Mt Olympus Junior High
by kaufmanl
Summary: Everyone has to grow up. Therefore, everyone, even gods, heroes, and nymphs, have to go to school. In which Persephone is raped, Dionysus and Hephaestus are gay, Hermes is abused and pathetically in love with Artemis, Artemis is in denial, Ares cheats on Hestia with Aphrodite, Apollo and Athena have sex at a party, and shit goes down. Sorry if it's a bit unrealistic.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to MOJH

_**Hermes**_

"And then there's the associative property of multiplication. Does anyone know what that proves?" Our math teacher, Demeter, asks. I don't raise my hand, as I'm half asleep. She calls on me anyway.

"Huh? Uh...six," I reply. She sighs.

"No, but six is a very good number. It comes after five. Did you know that?" She replies gently.

"No."

"Do you know what comes after six?"

"No. Can you tell me, Professor Demeter?" The rest of the class is already catching on. As the god of mischief, I'm particularly good at time-wasters. Yes, I do know how to count. I learned last weekend. So there.

Demeter is off, giving us the first nine numbers and then explaining how they go together to form other numbers, making the number line infinite. She's done, and there's still ten minutes of class left.

"Professor Demeter, are there numbers below zero?" I ask. And there she goes again, explaining negatives and operations with them. She gives us a lot more information then we need, but that's fine by me. She runs out the clock, and class is over. She doesn't have time to give us homework. I'm not actually as stupid as she thinks I am, and this comes in handy.

People give me high-fives as we file out of the underworld-I mean the math classroom. The underworld is nicer. I've been there. Hades is always sending Persephone love notes. It's kind of sad, actually. Not that I read them! I'm not supposed to read the letters I deliver. I never discover anything particularly scandalous, considering everyone knows that I read them. But it's still fun to get into other people's business.

"IT'S MONDAY, MONDAY, GOTTA GET DOWN ON MONDAY! EVERYBODY'S-" Apollo sings.

"NO! Stop! Do not sing that song! I WILL CUT YOU!" Ares claps his hand over Apollo's mouth, holding his knife to his throat.

"Okay, okay, put down the knife. Release the knife," Dionysus says, slowly prying the knife from Ares's hand. Apollo squirms out of Ares's choke hold.

"Students, a quick reminder: There are to be no weapons, explosions, tsunamis, fires, or tornados in the hallways. Also, no one is to be flying on school grounds without permission. Thank you!" A crackling voice announces over the PA. There is a chorus of groans.

"So, how was math class?" Apollo asks me.

"Awesome! I had this great dream, where I was riding a hippocampi down a mountain of icing, and then it turned out to be a giant cupcake, and I got to eat it! And then it exploded into a volcano of chocolate and all these fuzzy birds came out of the sky and started eating it, and then-" I began.

"I meant the class! Were you awake for any of it?" He asks.

"Yeah. Demeter taught me how to count!" I reply.

"I thought I taught you how to do that last weekend," He groans.

"You did. But she didn't know that. She ran out the clock and now we don't have homework! How awesome am I?" Apollo rolls his eyes.

"School is for learning, not playing tricks on teachers," He tells me.

"What school do you go to?" I scoff. The bell rings before he can answer, and we start towards our next class, which is gym. Yay. Trust me, it sucks being the shrimpy kid in gym class. Just my luck. Everyone else is muscular and tall and has goddesses falling all over them, and I'm, well, if you want to put it nicely, lean. If you don't, shrimpy. Changing in the gym locker room sucks too, because I've got zero abs (well, zero anything). But the locker room is definitely not the worst part. What is?

Dodgeball.

The dreaded sport. It's already dangerous enough, but when you add amazing and incredibly dangerous powers to the picture, well, it's a good thing we're immortal. It's deadly. To make matters worse, I have zero dangerous powers without my caduceus, which I'm not allowed to use. So I hide in the back and hope I'm on Apollo's team, because you don't want to be on the receiving end of his balls. He sets them on fire. And yet, somehow, I'm the one that's always in detentions. I don't throw fireballs at people! I just sleep through all my classes, get Fs on everything, put slime in my teachers's seats, you know, the usual.

We arrive at gym class, I change behind the shower curtain, and then head to class to find out we're playing dodgeball. Joy. Insert happy, excited comments here. Yay lame jokes! I get grouped into a team with Artemis, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and a bunch of nymphs. Great, we're against Apollo and Ares.

YAY DEATH!

The balls are lined up, the coach blows the whistle, and the game begins.

I take to the air immediately. I like to get an aerial view, and most people can't reach me up here. Except Ares. He's got a killer arm. And I mean killer. I settle down inside the basketball hoop to watch the game. If I'm lucky, no one will see me, and I can spend the class up here watching.

No such luck.

It never occurred to me that Apollo and Ares would join forces and try to end my life together. But they did. Apollo set one of the balls on fire and Ares threw it right at me. I didn't even notice it 'till it was about two feet from my face! I leaped out of the hoop and started an incredibly graceful plummet headfirst towards the gymnasium floor. It was just before I hit the ground that I remembered I could fly, and pulled out of a totally intentional dive seconds before death by floor.

"Smooth," Artemis hisses as she does a back handspring to avoid getting hit by a ball.

"Thanks," I reply, and gracelessly leap to the side. I would want to be hit so I could be out of the game, except that ball was covered in spikes. I'll wait for the normal, rubber balls.

LOL, "normal". As if.

Another ball comes flying at us, and Artemis squeals and trips backward to avoid getting hit. I catch her in my arms.

OH MY GODS I'M TOUCHING HER.

"Let go of me," She demands, squirming out of my arms. But I could've sworn she blushed when I caught her. She grabs me by the shoulders and jerks me to the ground.

"What was that for?" I snap.

"I'm sorry, did you want to get hit by that flaming ball my dear brother chucked at us?" She replies.

"Touché."

"Do you know what that means?"

"No." I grab her by the waist and we roll just out of reach of a thorn-covered one.

"Thanks," She says breathlessly.

"No problem," I reply. She's definitely blushing now. But then again, I probably look like a brick. Wait, the brick is the red one, right? "Hey, is a brick red or is that wood?" I ask Artemis. She gives me a funny look, then knees me in the crotch. I curl into a ball instinctively. "What the heck?" I demand.

"Sorry, I had to get you out of the way of that ball," She reasons.

"I think the ball might have been nicer!"

"It was on fire."

"Never mind." I uncurl and am once again inches from her face. And her boo- her face. Suddenly, I see a spiky ball flying at her. And the only way to get her out of the way is to...oh shit.

I grab her hands and yank her on top of me.

"What are you doing?" She shrieks.

"Getting you out of the way of that." I nod towards the ball.

"You could've just told me it was coming!"

"Oh." She wiggles off of me. We're still on the floor, but it's not quite so awkward. And suddenly fire is sailing at our heads, and there's no way to escape it fast enough. An unusual stroke of genius hits me, and I grab her by the hand and take off into the air. I pull her up with me. She screams. I guess I didn't choose the most comfortable position to drag her in. Once we're out of the way, I slide one of my arms underneath her knees so I'm carrying her bridal-style.

"That was close," I pant.

"Yeah," She replies. Then I'm leaning in and she's leaning in and-

PAAAAAAAAAARP!

I have never been so upset for a gym class to end.

DOO DOO DOO, DOO DOO DOO, SCENE CHANGE!

"...heels down, good, sit up straighter. Alright, this is OK. Keep going, he's refused this one every time. Push, push, push, nope. Try again," Coral instructs. Apollo sighs and turns back around. "Just do that one. That jump that he keeps refusing. And smack him before he takes it." Apollo nods. We have a day until competition and everyone's looking pretty good, except Artemis and I. I'm on a new horse that's super flighty. I'm pretty sure Crystal gave it to me so I'd fail. Artemis's horse is a nightmare. It likes to go fast, and Artemis let Ares ride it for a while when she was training some new yearling. Ares likes to go fast too, so he rode it really hard and fast all the time, and now it pulls at the bit and never slows down. It goes into everything way too fast and jumps it really sloppy, way overshoots, and ends up with only a stride to go before the next jump. Artemis is good, so she manages to stay alive. But I don't think either of us will be winning.

Apollo turns toward the roll-top that's been giving him trouble, and stirs his horse, Sunburst, into a gallop. They race toward it, Apollo smacks him hard, he puts on a burst of speed, and then refuses. Apollo, caught off guard, sails over the jump and lands on his butt on the other side. I clap enthusiastically. He glares at me.

"Well, you got over!" I reason, "Just, next time, take the horse with you."

"Very funny. If you're so good, why don't you try it?" He challenges.

"Gladly." I pick up my helmet and walk into the arena. Show jumping isn't my best quality, but it's not like can't get over a measly roll-top. I pull off the saddle, lead Sunburst over to the mounting block (Ares makes a snide comment about how I still have to use it. I'm not short, I'm vertically challenged), and clamber aboard. Apollo climbs up onto the fence and watches me with raised eyebrows. I turn around so I'm facing the jump, wind my fingers into Sunburst's mane, and squeeze him forward. I keep my leg on and keep him straight, so there's pretty much no way that he could refuse it. We sail over it with ease. I bring him down to a trot and we prance past Apollo triumphantly.

"What? How did you...? What was that?" He stammers.

"Try bareback," I suggest, "some horses like to be able to feel you and not just the saddle."

"I don't know how to jump bareback," He points out.

"It's easy. I'll teach you. Get on," I instruct. He shrugs and clambers on (Without the mounting block. Sure, let's just rub it in!). He steers Sunburst around so he's facing the jump. "OK, now, go!" I say. I'm not the best teacher.

"Huh?"

"GO!" I shout, picking up his crop and smacking Sunburst on the rump. Sunburst breaks into a gallop, and Apollo drops his reins and winds his arms around Sunburst's neck, holding on for dear life.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" He screams. They fly over the jump, and it's only Apollo's choke hold on his horse that keeps him on. I clap once they get back down to a walk.

"You did it!" I cheer.

"I nearly died," He hisses.

"Don't be silly," I scoff, "We're immortal!"

"And that's the only thing that kept me from death."

"You didn't even fall off."

"Because I was squeezing the life out of my horse!"

"But you got over!"

"You are such an idiot!"

"I'm fully aware." Crystal clears her throat impatiently. We both turn and look at her.

"First of all, Hermes, that was the biggest display of idiocy I've ever seen," She tells me.

"Well then, clearly you didn't see the time I-" I begin. She cuts me off.

"And, Apollo, if you can't get him over that jump, you can't compete. Got it?" She threatens. He nods dejectedly.

"I'll get him over," He promises.

"He'll probably do it now that he's seen there's nothing to be scared of," Artemis points out. Apollo nods.

"Everyone else needs to go tack up and practice," Crystal announces. We walk back to the barn, chattering excitedly, then depart to tack our horses.

Quicksilver, my new horse, may well be the prettiest horse in the barn. He's fleabitten gray, with shockingly green eyes and shiny black mane and tail. He's not thickset either, like most grays. He's skinny and tall like a Thoroughbred but jumps like Connemara. He'd be perfect, if it weren't for the spooking. He's afraid of everything. He's sweet and he aims to please, but literally everything sets him off. He's been getting better, though.

"Well," I tell him as I slide the silver bridle onto his head, "at least you're head and shoulders above Moonbeam." Quicksilver snorts in agreement. Moonbeam is Artemis's horse. He's a beauty and incredibly skilled, but he's become bad-tempered and impatient. He snaps at everyone and rushes everything. It's a wonder how she stays in the saddle.

I lead Quicksilver outside and clamber on, then walk him through the course. I keep a hand on his shoulder and mutter softly to him, which keeps the nervous horse fairly calm. We just might beat Artemis today. In competitions, technique is super important. But when we practice, we just go for speed. And Moonbeam is fast. Quicksilver is too, but no one compares to Moonbeam.

"Are you ready to be crushed at our competition?" Artemis calls. Quicksilver starts, but I get him back under control and turn to face Artemis and her snow white monster.

"With your technique? As if," I reply. Moonbeam prances impatiently.

"It's not technique that matters, it's speed." She counters.

"And none of that will matter for you, since you'll be on the ground," I shoot back.

"If you're so sure you're going to beat me, then why have I beaten you every time in practice?" She points out. Because you're faster and you're going to crush me tomorrow, I think.

"Because Quicksilver and I haven't shown you what we can really do yet," I say. She laughs out loud.

"Worst lie ever," She replies, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder. I roll my eyes.

"We'll beat you today, make no mistake," I warn her. She laughs again, and stirs Moonbeam into what was supposed to be a nice, collected canter. He takes off in a gallop and it takes her several strides to get him back in her iron grip. Her effort is clear, and, I remark with glee, it'll affect her score badly. Quicksilver picks up a smooth canter and we canter back to the starting line.

"I'll go first, as you'll take longer," Artemis reasons. I start the timer, and she takes off into the woods. As usual, with blinding speed. As usual, totally out of control.

The goal of the course is to complete it without falling or knocking any jumps, and come back out the finish, which is directly to the right of the start. Wait, maybe it's left. That's not the point. The course is shaped like a U, and when you come out the finish you have to try to hit the red button that stops the timer. If you miss it, the timer keeps going until you hit it.

While Artemis is riding, I warm up over the jumps in the field before the course begins. We do low jumps and I cool him out after every three so he isn't too winded when we do the course. Then I take him over to the side and do some lateral movements to get him loosened up. Suddenly, I hear the pounding of hooves. She's going way too fast, I think to myself, she's gonna miss the button. Moonbeam is huge, so Artemis always has to lean way off to the side to hit the button. At the speed she's going, she'll never get it.

"SLOW DOWN!" I call, hoping she'll hear me. Either she doesn't or she chooses to ignore me. She bursts out of the woods, leans so far down that she's almost vertical to the ground, hits the button, and topples off. Once I see she's OK, I burst out laughing.

"As funny as it may be," She says, "I still hit the button, and I got a great time. Beat that, I dare you." I glance at the timer, and see that she completed a two mile course in two minutes and seventeen point six seconds. That's an incredible time. I try not to show my amazement.

"That's nothing. Quicksilver and I are going to crush you!" I warn her. She rolls her eyes.

"Good luck," She scoffs, retrieving the reins of her horse and swinging back on gracefully. Don't look at her butt, don't look at her but, don't look at her butt, I think frantically to myself. My eyes stray there anyway. "Don't look at my butt!" She cries.

"What? I'm not!" I lie hastily. She rolls her eyes again. "You know, if you keep rolling your eyes, they're going to get stuck like that."

"That's crossing your eyes, Hermes."

"Oh." She rolls them again. I chew on my lower lip and stare down at the ground awkwardly. Quicksilver prances impatiently.

"Well, are you going to go or not?" Artemis presses.

"Oh, right. OK," I say, riding over to the start. Artemis presses the timer, rolls her eyes at me one more time for good measure, and then we're off.

Quicksilver races through the woods, fast as a lightening bolt. But not as fast as Moonbeam. Generally, I wouldn't ask for so much speed right in the beginning. But Moonbeam has a rare combination of both speed and stamina, and he could continue at a speed like this for hours on end.

We hurtle around a turn and leap over a stone wall, continuing towards a gate. We're doing pretty well, and Quicksilver hasn't spooked once.

Famous last words. A bird takes off overhead, squawking noisily. Quicksilver sidesteps nervously and darts off the course, galloping mindlessly into the unmarked woods. I yank on the reins, trying to regain control, but he isn't having it. He dodges trees and continues at a dangerous pace, and I all but drop the reins and depend on Quicksilver's mane and my seat to keep me on. Once he's galloped himself out, Quicksilver gives a good buck and throws me off.

"Hey!" I cry, "What was that for?" Quicksilver snorts at me, bobbing his head nervously. I glance around us, and realize that I don't recognize anything. Quicksilver twists his head around, and looks just as clueless as I do. "It's alright, buddy," I promise him, taking his reins in my hand, "I'll get us out." Empty promises. I've got no idea where we are. "OK, I'm going to try to get an aerial view." I'm pretty much talking to nobody, considering Quicksilver is a horse. But I'm not good at thinking, so hearing my thoughts aloud is easier for me.

I'm about to take off when I realize that I'm wearing my riding helmet and boots, neither of which have my trademark wings. "OK, nevermind. No aerial view. Well, I guess we'll just see if we can find our way out." I clamber back on Quicksilver's back and we start to walk in what I hope is the direction of the course. "Which way did you go to get here?" I ask Quicksilver, who knickers in reply. "Thanks. That's really informative." The fact that I really can't tell left from right isn't helping us right now. I get letters, directions, and numbers mixed up. I'm not really sure why. But my lack of any type of intelligence is not helping our situation.

We'd been walking for a while when I realize the sky is starting to darken and the temperature is dropping. Lightning flashes across the sky and rain begins to fall. "Seriously?" I shout at the sky, "Now of all times, father dearest?" Quicksilver glances about nervously. A shiver runs through his now wet coat. It looks like we'd have to camp out here, which isn't going to be the warmest. It kind of ticks me off, since everyone is sleeping at the barn before the competition and no one has come looking for us. Although, they probably assumed I'd gotten lost on the course again. But come on, that only happens six times.

I slip off Quicksilver's back and sit down on the driest piece of ground I can find. To my surprise, he lays down beside me. By now we're both soaked and I'm freezing, so I lean against him and try to share body warmth. He's so exhausted that he doesn't seem to care.

"HERMES?" I bolt upright.

"Artemis?" Quicksilver raises his head. I can hear hooves on the wet ground. Artemis and Moonbeam come into view, and I've never been happier to see her.

"What were you thinking? You are such an idiot!" She snaps.

"It's not my fault!" I defend myself, "Quicksilver spooked and took off. And then we got lost. Speaking of which, how are you planning to get us back?"

"Seeing as I'm not an idiot, I marked my trail," She explains icily.

"Well, Madame Brilliance, why don't you show us the way back?"

"Fine! Follow me." She turns around and urges Moonbeam into a trot. I quickly clamber onto Quicksilver's back and follow. I'm beginning to recognize things, the rain is ceasing, and things are getting infinitely better. What could go wrong?

Every. F*cking. Thing.

We're actually having a pleasant conversation about the upcoming obstacle course competition in fighting class, when suddenly we hear growling. Artemis knocks an arrow, and I search frantically for the knife that should be in my saddle bag. Oh, that's right. I don't have a saddle. Quicksilver's ears are pricked and he's prancing nervously, ready to bolt again. I place a hand on his quivering shoulder and cluck softly to him. He likes that noise. It's weird.

A pack of wolves emerges from the shroud of darkness. There's way too many for Artemis to take out with the three arrows she has left in her quiver. She's going to need my help, but I have no way to help her.

Her eyes narrow to a squint as she pulls the bowstring taught, then lets it loose. It pierces an unfortunate wolf. That's one down in a pack of five. If only there was some way I could get Artemis her arrows back without getting eaten. Wait a minute, I could do that! I'm wicked fast, even without my winged shoes. I could grab the arrow in the dead wolf's side and bring it back to Artemis. That way she'd have enough to get them all! I'm so smart.

LOL JK.

But seriously, this could work. I slip off of Quicksilver's back noiselessly, and dash over to the dead wolf's side.

"What are you-" Artemis begins to ask, but I'm back by her side with the arrow before she can finish. Realization dawns on her, and she nods in approval. She's so pretty when she nods.

Seriously? Not the time, Hermes.

Stop talking to yourself. That's weird.

Artemis slips the bloodied arrow back into her bow and releases it on another wolf. Two down, three to go. Suddenly, one of them makes a leap at Quicksilver. In an act of rash and thoroughly unintelligent valliance, I throw myself in between. The wolf is startled for a moment, then closes in on me. In another act of rash and thoroughly unintelligent valliance, I raise my fist and punch in in the snout. It flies back and smacks against a tree, then lies unmoving. Dead. I just killed it with my fist. What was that? I stand there, motionless and confused, and don't even notice when Artemis lets another arrow fly and it barely misses my head. Instead, it hits another wolf, leaving us with just one. This one is bigger than the other four, which lie dead on the ground. It snarls at us and slowly approaches. Artemis knocks an arrow and draws her bow, ready to fire. The wolf shrinks down to the ground in a squat and stares her down. Slowly, one by one, she pulls her fingers off of the bowstring and let's the arrow fly.

The wolf dodges it. It was her last one.

"New plan," I say, quickly clambering back aboard Quicksilver, "RUN!" Artemis turns Moonbeam around and we tear off towards the course. We can hear the barking of the wolf, chasing us. Suddenly, the course comes into view and we make a sharp turn onto it. We both leap over the stone wall, and leave the wolf on the other side.

Then the weirdest thing happens. She laughs. And I laugh too, because what else is there to do? We didn't die, and our horses didn't die, so why not laugh? That's a moment I'll never forget, because this is the moment I realize that I don't just like her. I'm in love with her. When she tipped her head back and let out that high, clear laugh, and her brown curls rolled down her back, and I laughed with her, everything was alright and I was in love. Maybe not with her, but I am in love with this moment. I never want things to go back to the way they were, with me drooling over her and her being disgusted and rejecting me. I wanted us to stay in this moment, and ride like the wind, and laugh, and be so, so in love.

Wow. That was pretty deep.

The laughter ends and she's just looking at me and I'm just looking at her. And that's alright. It wasn't awkward. I hate awkward silences, so I always end them by shouting, "Awkward silence! A gay baby has been born!" And everyone looks at me funny and laughs. But that's OK because I like to make people laugh. But anyway, this silence isn't awkward. We just look at each other and race through the woods without a care in the world.

"Do you want to go back?" She asks me.

"Huh?"

"To the barn. Do you want to go back?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know a lot of things."

"Well, then add this to the list."

"It's late."

"Yup."

"We should go back."

"Yup."

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what do you know?"

"That I want you to stop asking questions."

"Idiot."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"I was being sarcastic, Arrow-Brain."

"I know, Wing-Head."

And after that we're silent again, and we end up going back to the barn. Crystal freaks out all over us but both of us are beyond caring. We just clean our horses and get them some food and then go to the lounge as if nothing has happened, even though we're both unusually happy. Then we open the doors and everything is perfectly normal, because Hephaestus is flirting with Coral in the corner, Persephone and Aphrodite are doing make-up, Apollo and Athena are doing homework (nerds), Hestia is brushing her hair quietly and observing everything, and Dionysus is totally drunk even though he's only 14. So that's the way it should be. The only thing that's missing is Artemis braiding Hestia's hair and me filling people's underwear with applesauce. But that's alright. I like what we did instead.

I walk over and lay out my sleeping bag, hoping that Artemis will put hers next to mine. She doesn't. She goes in between Aphrodite and Athena, which makes sense. They're the "big three" of junior high. The important goddesses. I guess the important gods would be Apollo, Ares, and I, but no one calls us the "big three". Probably because I'm really small. I sit down on my sleeping bag and observe like Hestia does, but I don't find any joy in it. I've seen what I'm seeing right now a million times over. The only unusual thing is that Persephone comes over and sits beside me.

"Are you nervous?" She asks.

"Sort of. You?"

"Yeah. Apollo and Athena always beat me. I need to win, or else Crystal will cut me."

"Why would she do that?"

"She doesn't need a loser."

"If she didn't need a loser, I'd be long gone."

"That's not true. You always win."

"Artemis beats me sometimes."

"But then you always come in second."

"Not all the time." She doesn't reply. We're silent. Then suddenly, she asks me, "Do you think I'm a slut?"

"What?"

"I'm 14 and married to a guy I barely know. Am I a slut?"

"No. I mean, I don't think so. You didn't want to marry him. And marrying someone doesn't make you a slut."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

"I visited Hades last weekend."

"And...?" She's silent for a moment, looking at the floor.

"He...he..." She stammers. I see her eyes starting to tear up, which is weird, because I barely know Persephone. Sure, I think she's pretty and all, but everyone does. She looks me in the eye. "He raped me." She says quietly.

"Oh." That's all I can think of to say. And then she's crying and I don't know what to do, because, again, I barely know her. But she's entrusted me with her secret and she needs help so I wrap my arms around her and I let her cry into me.

Things get kind of out of control from then. I guess she's pretty depressed, because she lets Dionysus give her alcohol. And she drinks it. And I guess she likes it because she gets more. I'm not sure if she's actually drunk or trying to convince herself that she is, but she certainly acts like it. Not in the crazy way that Dionysus gets, but she just acts weird and everyone knows there's something wrong with her. She stays next to me, which is also weird. And I hold her hand because I want her to know that it's OK. And she pretty much doesn't say anything, she just sits.

We don't have the festive night we usually have, because Persephone is so depressed and no one knows why, so after a while we all just go to sleep.

And tomorrow, shit goes down.


	2. Chapter 2: The First Horse Show

**Hi everyone! Here's the second chapter of _Mt. Olympus Junior High_! I also want to say thank you to everyone who favorited and commented on my story. It made my day seeing your comments. Writing is my passion, and it makes me so happy that people enjoy my writing. I followed everyone who commented/favorited this story. I'm sorry if the horse stuff bores you. Horses are my other passion- I just had to include them somehow. This chapter is mostly horse stuff, just warning you. **

**chipettejones10: Thank you _soooooo_ much for the review! I'm so glad you like it! I went on your profile (sorry if thats a bit creepy-I was just so excited!), Hermes and Artemis are my OTP too! I'll definitely be reading some of your stories! **

**I also forgot the disclaimer last time. So, um, I don't own Greek Mythology, cause, um, it's a religion, so, um, you can't really own a religion...ok now the story.**

* * *

"And, riding out with a perfect score and a time of two minutes and four seconds, that was Apollo and Sunburst!" Apollo is all smiles as he prances out of the arena. Everyone seems to be happy, even Persephone. Crystal is clapping because that's his new personal best, and I clap because he's my friend and why not? And Persephone is clapping because she told me she's going to try to be happy, and everyone is clapping except for Athena.

"Think Fast and I were faster," She tells him.

"You haven't even gone yet," He points out.

"I know. I'm just letting you know ahead of time," She counters. Hestia watches with a soft smirk at their antics and a cocked head, which would be weird, except that's what she always does. Watches and thinks. She's cool, though. Even though she notices way too much, and every now and then she'll make some comment about something you didn't even know she saw. But she's pretty and nice so everyone likes her. Persephone swings into Blossom's saddle and rides into the ring.

"Please welcome to the course, Persephone and Blossom!" There is a good amount of cheering because she's beautiful and she's a goddess, and then Persephone salutes the judges and begins.

She picks up a canter around the outside of the ring, and heads toward the first jump, a simple oxar. She clears it easily and continues towards a low but long jump that has been giving almost everyone trouble. Apollo and some crazy-good nymph from another riding school are the only ones to have cleared it. She does the right thing, though. Instead of pushing for more speed, she asks for a longer stride. Blossom lengthens her canter and leaps the jump beautifully. She did a nicer job technique-wise than Apollo, and I see him worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He must've noticed that too. And it's weird, because she never beats him. Anyway, She continues to a Swedish oxer, which is a fairly difficult jump, but nothing compared to the upcoming water jump. She clears this easily and then asks for a longer stride. Blossom is extending as far as she can go, and then he springs over the jump. Not so great, her technique was bad, but at least she got over. She rounds the corner and goes for the last three, a bounce and a simple X. Not to be underestimated, though. It's important to be perfect technique-wise since this is such a simple jump, and it's actually fairly high. She shortens Blossom's stride for the bounce, and then evens her out nicely and gets right over the center of the X. Perfect. The announcer announces her name and score, and then she prances out of the ring to wild applause, most from the section of teenage male nymphs who came to see the pretty goddesses. Not that I blame them. That's what I do at the cheerleading competitions. But who are we kidding, who doesn't go to those?

Athena, like the others, rides clear and fast. Faster than Persephone, slower than Apollo. But speed isn't all that determines your score. Technique and appearance are important, too. After everyone competing has gone, they all file into the ring for awards.

No one in our group wins sixth, fifth, or fourth. So either they did great or they didn't place.

"Second runner-up, with a score of 284, Athena riding Think Fast!" Athena looks a little surprised, but she takes her award graciously and takes a quick lap around to show off her skill and beautiful mount, as is customary in the top three. "First runner-up, with a score of 296, Persephone riding Blossom!" Persephone looks shocked. So does Athena. Persephone beat her. This never happens. We clap and cheer wildly. So do the male nymphs. A few show her their abs, which have their Iris Message Numbers written across them. She pays them no attention and trots around the ring, but I think she notices them because she tosses her shiny red locks as she rode past. They are practically drooling.

Apollo and the crazy-good nymph are the only ones left, and I can tell he's nervous, because now it's all or nothing. He won or he didn't make the top 6. It would be shocking if the second option was true, but the same goes for the nymph.

"And today's overall long-stirrup show-jumping winner, with a perfect score of 300..." The announcer lets the suspense build. "...Apollo riding Sunburst!" We cheer incredibly loudly as Apollo accepts his ribbon, trophy, and medal, then canters around the ring so everyone can get a good look at the winner. There's swooning from a bunch of the girls and Athena's face is flushed when he shoots her a glance that only she seems to understand.

After a small amount of celebration, high-fiving, and eye-sex between Athena and Apollo (get a room), we go back to our trailer to get ready for dressage. It goes as it always does. Aphrodite and Dionysus battle it out on the sidelines until it's their turn, they both give ridiculously good performances, and Aphrodite wins. Dionysus is a close second, and, being the guy he is, he congratulates her and is so nice that she can't bear to gloat. She looks to Ares for some shameless flirtation, but instead finds him with his arms around a strangely content looking Hestia, which is unusual. Usually, Ares and Aphrodite are all over each other. Speed racing is equally uneventful, except that Hestia and Fireblaze win. We all suspect that Ares let her win due to his newfound crush on her, but we cheer for her anyway. It wasn't like she didn't run a good race.

Then comes cross country. Artemis goes first, as the process is alphabetical.

She starts off incredibly fast, which is described by the announcer as "a risky decision". But he hasn't seen how long Moonbeam can go. She finishes the course in record time, but her ride is described as "rushed and ugly. However, her time was amazing and it could definitely make up for the technical errors".

Then it's my turn. Quicksilver is prancing impatiently at the start, and I'm hoping that the blast of the air horn signifying that we can start won't spook him.

PAAAARP!

Luckily, he'd heard it enough times to know that it was nothing to be scared of. He bolts along the course, and I don't try to rein him in. It's a fairly short one, only seven jumps. First is a bush trimmed to look like a duck so that it will confuse horses, but he doesn't give it a second glance. He just leaps right over. He takes a water jump with the same ease, then barrels toward a chicken coop. This startles him, as he's never jumped one before, and he throws in an extra stride to stall. I squeeze with my heels and he hops over it. I stand up and hold on. I know it was ugly, but I'll take it. Four more jumps to go. A ditch. Overshot, but not too noticeably, and he recovers well. Three more. A log bounce. One, two, three, done. Two more. A fence. Quicksilver leaves out a stride and takes a flying leap, which I hope is impressive instead of ugly. I get up in my two-point, so at least he doesn't drag me over. Last one. Brick wall. We've jumped this a million times. Three strides, over. Perfect. I ask for more speed as we approach the finish, and Quicksilver obeys. We fly across the finish with a time of one minute and forty three seconds. I bring him back down and pat him. That's a time to be proud of.

We walk over to the rest of the team. Artemis is looking smug because her time was faster, but that's not all that matters, as I'm quick to remind her. She shrugs. I guess it's enough for her.

The last rider finished with an awful time, half because she's in tears by the end of it. She screwed up big time. We ride into the dressage ring for awards, and the announcer starts announcing. It gets all the way down to second place and only Artemis and I are left.

"With a score of 298, first runner-up is Hermes riding Quicksilver!" I guess I'm not disappointed. That wasn't the best we could've done. So, Artemis beat us. We'll get her next time. And at nationals. Again.

I take a short lap around the ring and watch Artemis receive her first place awards. She's grinning ear-to-ear, but there's an obvious murmur throughout the crowd that "her ugly ride didn't deserve first".

The bus ride home is the same as always. There's gloating and challenging and arguing and flirting and everyone is trying to talk over one another, except Hestia, who's just observing as always. But this time, she's observing from Ares's arms.

"I beat you, I beat you, I beat you!" Artemis taunts as she dances past me.

"You're only so excited 'cause it's never happened before," I counter.

"Yeah, right," She replies.

"Would you rather win the first competition or the national title?"

"Shut up!"

"That's your best come-back?"

"I have a better one, but I'm not allowed to use that kind of language."

"Oh, snap. So is that you're way of saying yes, that is your best comeback?" She's silent. And I take it as a victory for me. I turn my head and see Apollo arguing with Athena.

"...killed you! I destroyed you! Third place? Psssh!"

"I was going easy on you."

"Uh-huh."

"You did OK. But it was the first competition. You'll see what we can really do next time."

"Sure..." And so on.

When we arrive home, Hestia has scored Ares's number and a date, much to Aphrodite's displeasure, and Persephone is giving me weird glances. Then, all of the sudden, she walks up and hugs me.

"Thank you," She says. I want to tell her that I really didn't do anything except be her shoulder to cry on, but I guess that was all she needed. So I just pat her on the back and I don't say anything.

I leave my equipment in the tack room, put on my winged sneakers and baseball cap, and fly home, internally beating myself up over my second place trophy. I better win next time. Artemis is going to hold this over my head forever. But this competition didn't even matter. It was the first one! I'll win next time. Or, at least, this is what I tell myself.

Once I arrive home, I attempt to sneak up the stairs without attracting my mother's attention. No such luck.

"Did you win?" She asks.

"No," I reply, "but I got second."

"Second isn't first, is it?"

"No. But it was our first competition."

"All the more reason to make an impression."

"Mom, have you ever been in a horse show? They're hard. Everyone competing is really-"

"Don't be smart with me!"

"I'm not, I-" But I'm cut off by the sting of her hand across my face. "Mom?" She stares at me, tears glistening in her rage filled eyes.

"Go!" She orders. I hurry up the stairs and into my room, throwing myself on the bed. And then I just lay there and wonder why she did that. Our relationship has been a little frayed lately, but that's no reason for her to hit me. And it hurt. There's a red mark on my cheek that isn't going anywhere, and I'm not sure how to hide it. I guess I'll just lie about it. I'm good at lying.

I suppose it all started two days ago. She's very smart, and she always has been. She won a bunch of academic awards when she was in school. So she was trying to help me with my homework, and she just didn't understand that I couldn't read it. I just couldn't! The letters were flying all over the place, and I certainly wasn't seeing the same words she was. I suggested the maybe we were reading different things, and she called me stupid and slapped me.

That was the first of many times. Today is only the third, and the first time she's slapped me hard. And I can't imagine what's coming next, if I don't stop screwing things up. It's my fault, really, it is. I should've won today. She was right. I needed to make an impression. It was an easy competition. Why didn't I win? Cause I suck. I deserved to be slapped, right?


	3. Chapter 3: Meetings & Beatings

**Hey! Here's chapter 3! I hope you've been enjoying my story. I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter :(. Please review, it would make me really happy! If you leave a review, I'll give you a preview of the next chapter. **

**Disclaimer: Um, yeah, don't own Greek Mythology. Is this really necessary?**

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_**Hermes**_

"What's red and has two legs?"

"I don't know. Enlighten me."

"Half a cat."

"Knee slapper."

"Why did the little boy drop his ice cream?"

"Why?"

"He was hit by a bus."

"Oh my gods! That's horrible!"

"Why did you go for a walk?"

"Do I want to know?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Why?"

"It doesn't matter. You fell off a cliff."

"Hermes!"

"Just trying to lighten the mood." The mood really does need lightening. We're all gathered in the palace, waiting for the meeting to begin. Everyone's grumpy because we have to wear traditional dress. The girls are in full length togas, Artemis has her moon hat-thingy, Athena has her owl, Aphrodite has a mirror, Hestia is carrying around a log (weird), and Persephone has flowers in her hair. And the guys? We have to wear tunics. I have it pretty easy, mine's just plain white with a gold rope tying it in the middle. But I'm still wearing a dress. I don't have it as bad as Dionysus. His is entirely purple and embroidered with grapes. Ares has a red stripe going across his, a metal belt, and studded leather things that hang off of it. It's a "traditional battle skirt". Apollo's isn't so bad, but it's got gold shiny fringe and a fancy gold belt. And he has to wear the sun hat, which has golden rays sticking out in every direction. Hephaestus's is plain brown, and he carries around a big hammer. Ares has a sword, Apollo has a lyre, and Dionysus has a goblet. I have fancy winged sandals that lace all the way up to my knees, a metal helmet with wings, and my caduceus. It's all specially designed for maximum lightness and protection. This is the fancy stuff that I'm only allowed to wear on special occasions. Not that I mind. I prefer my sneakers and baseball cap. But it just seems stupid that all this thinking went into engineering these and I never use them. Anyway, the tunics are pretty awful and really always have been, but it's worse now that my mother has taken to beating me (it's my fault, really, but I'm not getting into that). The tunics are pretty skimpy, so I spent an hour in the bathroom trying to position mine over the whiplashes and belt buckle marks. The mark on my face has almost fully faded, but my brand-new black eye isn't going anywhere (also my fault, I failed a test). The "I fell" lie is working surprisingly well, but it won't if they see the belt marks. I don't want to be hit, but it's my fault so there's nothing anyone can do about it. I can't tell them, or else they'd take my mother away and I'd never see her again. I do love her, and I know she's just going through a rough time. She'll stop eventually.

"Do you think they'll find us this time?" Ares asks. The palace has about a million nooks and crannies, and we manage to find a new room to hide in every time. Someone always finds us, though.

"Probably," I reply.

"Don't be a pessimist," Apollo tells me. Then he starts singing one of his favorites, "Look on the Sunny Side". "Look on the sunny side, always the sunny side, look on the sunny side of life. No need to complain when you're out in the rain, just look on the sunny side of life!" Everyone glares at him when he's done. "What? It's a good song!"

"No. No, it really isn't," Artemis sighs. The horn sounds, and we know we're supposed to go to the central gathering room for the meeting.

"Do we go?" Athena asks.

"NO!" Ares cries, "Never surrender!"

"This is a meeting we're talking about, not a world war," Apollo reminds us.

"We should go," Dionysus says.

"Hey, guys, what did the farmer say when he lost his tractor?" I ask.

"What?" Apollo groans.

"Where's my tractor?" I answer.

"Funny," Ares says dejectedly.

"Guys, we're gonna be late!" Dionysus reminds us.

"So what?" Artemis replies.

"We're gonna be in trouble!" He says. Artemis rolls her eyes. I would too, except the idea of being in trouble scares me a lot more than it usually does. What if they're really mad this time? What if they hit us? That's not even what scares me the most. If they beat us, they'll have to take off our shirts, and then everyone will see the belt marks.

"We should go," I say.

"Why? You hate the meetings," Artemis reminds me.

"Yeah, well, what if they're really mad this time?" I point out.

"They never are," She replies.

"Oh, whatever! Let's just go! They're gonna find us anyway!" Ares decides. No one likes to contradict Ares when he's angry, so we follow him out the door and through the twisting hallways of the palace. Everyone's already assembled when we arrive.

"You're late," Zeus booms, and I find myself flinching at the anger in his voice. Artemis gives me a funny look. "It's in your best interests to be on time next time," He warns ominously. No one replies, we just take our seats around the big table. "First order of business, Winter is approaching!" Zeus announces.

"Aah, my lovely wife will be returning," Hades hisses silkily. Demeter places a protective arm around her daughter.

"She's only a girl!" Demeter argues, "She has school, and friends, and a life! Are you expecting her to leave this all behind to stay with you?"

"That was the deal, I believe," Hades replies, drumming his thin fingers together maliciously. Persephone stares at him, fear in her wild green eyes. I know what she's thinking about.

"She's been visiting you all Summer!" Demeter argues, tightening her grip on her trembling daughter.

"Her mistake," Hades says simply. I can see their tempers beginning to boil over, and Persephone growing more and more afraid.

"Hey, guys, what do you call a sheep with no head or legs?" I interject.

"Now of all times, Hermes?" Zeus sighs.

"A cloud!" I say, even though no one has asked for the answer. There's an appreciative chuckle, and Demeter seems to be less angry. Zeus sighs and places his head in his hands. Hades glares at me.

"Hermes, it would be in your best interests not to get in the way," He warns icily. I find myself flinching at his words, though Hades's empty threats have never scared me. Hades seems pleased that he's actually frightened someone, and my father gives me a long, hard look. "Back to the point," Hades continues, "Persephone will be joining me in the underworld in a few weeks."

"No, I won't," Persephone says quietly. Everyone stares at her. No one ever contradicts Hades,

and she rarely talks at the meetings.

"Oh, you won't? And why would that be?" Hades asks.

"I think you know why," She replies. I can see him growing more uncomfortable.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about."

"You've got every idea what I'm talking about!"

"Dear wife, please, don't cause too much trouble. These are adult matters. Just do as you are bid."

"Just do as I'm bid? From you? I will never take orders from you, you pedophile!" There's an audible gasp. Hades's eyes widen.

"What did you call me?" He hisses, terrifyingly quiet.

"A pedophile," She replies bravely, "because that's exactly what you are! You raped me!" Demeter lets out a small shriek, and throws her arms around her daughter, who is now shaking and crying.

"Hades," Zeus says, "is this true?"

"No," Hades replies simply.

"Swear on the River Styx!" Zeus commands.

"I cannot," Hades answers, "one mustn't lie to the river." Everyone gasps. Demeter turns to Zeus.

"Please," She cries, "you can't let him take my daughter. Please!" Zeus is shockingly calm.

"Hades, Persephone will not be returning with you for the next several years. At least until her schooling is done. Rape is a crime and this is your punishment," He decides. Hades nods, unusually quiet. There's a long, uncomfortable, silence.

"Awkward silence!" I shout, "A gay baby has been born!"

"Hermes!" My father shouts, banging his gavel, "That is not funny! Please, save the jokes for another time. Or there will be consequences." I begin to shake slightly, the whiplashes on my back stinging more violently each second. I grip the table so hard my knuckles turn white. My father stares at me quizzically, then continues with the meeting. "Second order of business, there is a horrible drought in Delphi. Poseidon, your reasoning for denying them rain?" He prompts.

"I don't like them," Poseidon explains.

"Why?" Zeus replies.

"I just don't," He explains.

"Well, that's no reason for drying their rivers and denying them rain. You'll end this awful drought or else there will be grave consequences," Zeus decides.

"Yes, Sir Bossy-Pants," Poseidon replies. There's a ripple of laughter and Uncle Poseidon smiles. Even Zeus is grinning slightly.

The rest of the meeting goes like most do. Each god or goddess is asked how his or her duties are going, and if they are being fulfilled. Zeus bores everyone with the trivial problems of mortals who have lost their togas, or other belongings, because there really isn't much to talk about. There's a heated debate between Hestia and Hades about a mortal who's lost her mind and whether or not she should be killed. It is voted that she lives. This has not been a good day for Hades. He's lost his wife and his rights to an insane mortal with no reason to live. Usually, her string would be cut by the fates and her confused life would end. But everyone seems to be on any side but Hades's. After all, what 40 year old man kidnaps, marries, and rapes a fourteen year old girl? Then again, I guess I shouldn't talk. My mother beats me. Still, raping someone 26 years younger than you is pretty gross.

The meeting draws to a close, and Zeus dismisses us. I'm about to file out the door with everyone else when he calls me back in.

"Yes, sir?" I say, bowing slightly because apparently that's what you're supposed to do.

"I hate when people bow to me." Oh. Guess not.

"Oh. Sorry." I keep my eyes on the floor and fiddle with the hem of my tunic. I tried so hard not to do anything wrong, I was only trying to lighten the mood. But this really wasn't the place for silly jokes. And now he's going to hit me too. I deserve it, I was interrupting in matters that didn't involve me. Involuntarily, I start to quiver with fear, remembering the painful slap of the belt against my back.

"Is something going on that I should know about? Something involving this?" He gestures to my black eye.

"I fell down the stairs," I mutter.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that," He replies. I can do that. I'm a good liar.

"I fell down the stairs."

He gives me one last long, hard look, then lets me go.

PE. I hate PE. At least we're not playing dodgeball.

"We'll going to play a new game today," Our teacher, Phobos (god of fear) announces. "I'm going to ask you a question. The answer is hidden on a card on the other side of the gym. You and your partner have to find it and be the first to bring it back here, all while both of you are holding on to the jump rope. Got it? Pair up." Ares goes with Dionysus, because Ares is an idiot and Dionysus is fairly smart. Hephaestus pairs up with Coral because he likes her, Artemis goes with Athena because Artemis is fast and Athena is brilliant, Aphrodite picks Persephone because neither of them want to play, Hestia partners up with a nymph who no one wanted to be partners with, and I'm stuck with Apollo, whose smart but possibly the slowest moving human being on the planet. "First question: What family do almonds belong to?"

"Peach family!" Apollo hisses in my ear. Everyone else but Athena and Artemis are still trying to figure out the answer.

"Hold on tight," I warn.

"Don't go too-AAAAAAAAAAH!" I shoot forward, dragging Apollo along with me.

"Here!" I cry, "This one says 'peach'." I shove it into his hand.

"Wait!" He cries, but I'm already off. He skids along behind me.

"Second question: What color is hippo milk?" Mr. Oaks announces.

"Hippos have milk?" I ask.

"Yup," Apollo replies, "it's pink."

"Great, let's go!"

"No, wait-AAAAAAH!" We reach the other side, and I frantically search for a card that says "pink".

"Here it is!" Apollo shouts. Then he grips the rope and braces himself as we shoot forward again. He's leaving skid marks on the floor.

"Could you go a little faster please?" I ask.

"Faster?!" He cries, "Aren't we already going fast enough?"

"Please," I scoff, "This is slow in my book."

"Which number is a non-repeating decimal which continues on forever?" Mr. Oaks asks.

"Pi!" Apollo shouts.

"I like pie," I muse.

"Not the food pie, the number pi. You know, three point one four one five nine two-AAAAAAAH!" And off we go. I was getting tired of listening him list numbers. And he wasn't even doing it right! Everyone knows the four doesn't come after one. Three does. Duh.

I pick up a random card off the ground. It has a weird symbol on it that I can't read.

"That's it!" Apollo tells me, "That's pi!" I hand him the rope, and he sighs before reluctantly grabbing on to it.

"Off we go! WEEEEEE!" I cheer.

"Ha ha, you said 'wee'," Ares taunts.

"I swear you are five years old," Dionysus sighs. By the end of class, almost everyone has stopped playing to watch me drag Apollo back and forth. Even Phobos is laughing. And I'm actually enjoying myself, which is weird because I hate gym.

I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot about the belt marks on my back. And I went to the locker room with the other boys, and I didn't change behind the shower curtain. I didn't even remember they were there until Dionysus noticed them, and pointed them out to Hephaestus, who turned and told Ares, who told Apollo. All of this happened behind my back, literally.

"Hermes," Apollo says, gesturing to the scars, "what are those?"

"Um, nothing!" I say hurriedly, and disappear quickly behind the shower curtain.


	4. Chapter 4: Ducks in Red Hats

**Here's chapter 4! I got a ****_ton _****of reviews these past few days, and I really appreciate it!**

**GirlsRule1012: Constructive criticism is welcome too. Anything that makes me a better writer I'm totally open to. I've been told about a million times I need to work on my descriptions. Not really my strong point :). As for the horses, I love them. It's something I feel really passionate about and ends up having some importance in the end. You can skip through it if you want. Thanks!**

**chipettejones10: So nice, as always! Your reviews always make me smile! I hope you appreciated the sneak peak! **

**wakashark: I think Hermes is cute, too! Wait, is that weird? Whatever :). Thank you so much for the nice words!**

**I got two especially nice guest reviews that I think were from the same person. If that's you, thank you so much! Character portrayal is something I work really hard in. I think it's incredibly important to the plot. I'm so glad you like my characters and couples :). And yes, there will be a little HermesxPersephone in here ;).**

**Disclaimer: Greek Mythology is not mine. If it was, that would be really cool. But it's not. Tear. **

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_**Artemis**_

Nock. Shoot. Bullseye. Nock. Shoot. Bullseye. Nock. Shoot. Bullseye. A repetitive pattern of destruction. Nock. Shoot. Bullseye. Nock. Shoot. A flaming arrow pierces the center of the target, but it's not mine.

"You're going to burn the target," I warn. My brother shrugs, pulls the still burning arrow out, and slips it back into his quiver.

"Only slightly singed," He reasons. The target is black and charred where his arrow used to be. I shoot an arrow, it hits the bullseye, and the target cover crumbles where I hit it. "Okay, maybe it's a bit...damaged." I sigh and move over to the next target, which is still intact. "Why are you practicing? You know you're going to hit them all anyway," He points out.

"I'm bored," I explain, "you?"

"Same," He replies.

"Shouldn't you be off practicing for your audition for the school musical, or something equally dorky?"

"Auditions aren't until next week."

"So? Aphrodite's already practicing. It's like nails on a chalkboard."

"I don't need to practice."

"That's big of you."

"You don't practice before your archery competitions."

"Touché." He draws his bow and shoots another flaming arrow. "Would you stop burning the targets?" I cry. He frowns.

"That one didn't even hit the target," He points out, seemingly confused. I stifle my laughter. He shrugs, nocks another arrow, and misses again.

"Nice shot," I scoff, drawing my bow and shooting. My arrow sails straight for the target...and veers way left of it inexplicably. He smirks. "Hold on a second," I mutter, shooting another arrow. My suspicions are proved correct when I miss again. The target is definitely moving. I fire another, and this time I'm certain that I see winged feet below it. "Hermes!" I shout, "Quit messing with the targets!"

"But it's so much fun!" He argues, coming out from behind it.

"If you love the targets so much, then why don't you let me use you as one?" I suggest, drawing my bow. He shrugs.

"Bring it, Arrow-Brain," He taunts.

"You asked for it," I remind him, firing my arrow. It flies right at his chest, and I think it's going to hit him. Without thinking, I shriek in panic. He laughs and shoots into the air at the last minute.

"I win!" he cheers. I curse under my breath. He stumbles to the ground, and his baseball cap shifts so it's hanging lopsidedly over one eye. It kind of suits him, actually.

What am I saying?

"Look!" (Ecce! That's right, I'm a Latin genius) Apollo shouts, "Ares is about to kill some nymph!" We turn and face the sword fighting platform, which is raised five feet above the ground with no fence around the sides. Ares currently has a large tree nymph teetering on the edge of it, disarmed. The nymph circles his arms wildly, and at the last minute, Ares grabs his arm and flings him back to the center of the platform. The spectators let out their breath.

"Consider yourself defeated," Ares growls menacingly.

"I think Ares needs to be taken down a peg," Apollo suggests, shoving his sword into my hand. "Go get 'em, little sis."

"I'm older than you!" I remind him, as I backpedal towards the arena.

"Are not!" He replies. I roll my eyes (I so am) and climb the steps into the arena.

"I challenge the victor!" I announce. The cheering spectators gasp. Ares turns to face me.

"Good luck," He replies. We raise our swords, and the fight begins.

I immediately go for the top of his sword, pushing it down towards the ground. But Ares is strong, and I soon realize this won't work.

"Fighting you is, like, an insult to my skill," I say.

"Please," He scoffs, "stick to the targets, sweetcheeks." I knock him to the ground, but he's up again instantly, and the fight is brought back to the middle of the platform.

Something feels off about Apollo's sword. It's thicker and wider than mine, the handle is larger and slippery, and all in all it's heavier. The movement is slower and I'm having a hard time reacting to Ares's moves. This is definitely the reason that suddenly I've got no sword and I'm falling off the platform. I think I'm going to hit the ground and my skull is going to crack open when suddenly I've been scooped up in someone's arms and I'm sailing back up towards the platform.

****Hermes.

My brother is doubled over in hysterics, singing, "Artemis and Hermes, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." in between bouts of laughter. Ares is scanning the crowd for another opponent while the spectators cheer and try to shove their friends up onto the platform. And I'm in Hermes's arms. You know, I've never noticed how shiny his hair is. Or how his eyes never lost that mischievous glint, and it's kind of cute. Or how-

What is wrong with me?

"Apollo!"

"What?"

"I can't find my pajama top."

"And?"

"Well, I really wanted to wear those pajamas!"

"Oh, is it someone's time of month?"

I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. "Seriously. Did you take my pajamas?" He sighs and rolls his eyes.

"I don't have your shirt," He groans, "now quit bothering me."

"Apollo!" I whine.

"Arty, think for a second. If you can't find something, where is it 99% of the time?"

"Hermes stole it."

"Right. So, go get it from him."

Reluctantly, I pull on my shoes, shoulder my bow and quiver, and begin the walk to Hermes's house. Which is basically a cave. Which is weird, because don't we all live in, like, palaces or something? I think the author needs to do some more research...

ANYWAY (Author note: stop sassing me, characters. I invented you! Well, not really, but I...shaped you), I stumble down the steep stone path, which is always slick from the raging sea below. The water slaps the rock wall that forms the other side to the narrow stone path, and spray rises up and sprinkles my face. The sea smells good, and it brings back a lot of memories. Like that time that we were eight, and sitting in the windowsill in Hermes's room, and Apollo fell out and into the ocean, and Hermes had to fly down and save him, but he didn't know how to fly very well, so they both ended up in the ocean. And I was still sitting in the windowsill, pointing and laughing at my brother and my best friend, struggling to stay above the waves, until finally Uncle Poseidon had the heart to wash them both up on the shore. Or the time that we rode hippocampi beneath the waves for the first time, and the amazing things we saw. And Uncle Poseidon's good-natured chuckling at our wide eyes.

All of those good memories are wiped from my mind when I arrive at the door. I don't even knock, because all I can hear is screaming. Screaming and some...smacking noise. What is that? The screaming pauses, and I hear a door slamming and angry, stomping footsteps. Something is definitely up, and curiosity is getting the better of me. I quickly scale the stone wall and peer into Hermes's window, but I don't see anyone there. I can hear rustling from the bathroom, though.

****"Hermes?" I call. More rustling.

"Artemis?" He replies. I still can't see him.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh...I'll be right there!" More rustling and clinking, then the sound of a door shutting, and he appears in front of the window.

I almost fall off the windowsill.

Half of his face is completely bruised and cut. He's got a black eye, his lip is cracked, and he has a bruise all up his cheek, along with a still-bleeding cut.

"What the...how did you...what?" I stammer.

"I,uh, I really need to fix those stairs. I fell down them again. Whoops!" He scratches the back of his head nervously, eyes downcast. I cross my arms over my chest.

****"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying!" A wave rushes up against the wall and sprays me. Shocked, I slip from my position on the windowsill and begin a terrifying descent toward the craggy shore of the icy green waters. He grabs me by the wrist at the last minute and yanks me into his bedroom, which consists of a four-poster bed, a dresser, a desk, and a drum set in the corner. Hermes has a lot in common with his drum set. Loud and annoying. Something seems...off. Different from the last time I was here. I take a closer look at the bed, and that's when I see it.

"Hermes, is that blood on your sheets?!" I demand.

"No!" He replies quickly. Too quickly.

"Then what is it?"

"Red paint! I've been...painting?"

"Painting?"

"Um...yes? I find painting to be a very...uh...valuable skill."

"Hermes, I've seen you paint. Literally everything you draw looks like a duck."

"Yes, because I...like drawing ducks! It's a very rare skill to be able to perfectly capture the essence of a duck."

"Ducks aren't red."

"Huh?"

"You said that was red paint on your bed. Ducks aren't red."

"I like to draw my ducks with...um...red hats!"

"Red hats."

"Yup!"

"OK. Can I see one of your ducks?"

"Well, I would show you, but it's all very top-secret."

"Why?"

"Because...I'm not really comfortable showing people my ducks. They're not perfect yet."

"Right." I roll my eyes. This is a pathetically sad excuse, especially coming from the god of mischief and cunning. Something about it has got me believing him, though...

Snap out of it! That's just Hermes working his magic! He always manages to trick people, even with the dumbest of lies, simply because he's good at it. There's something about the way he talks that makes you believe him. It's not working as well this time, though. He seems sort of nervous and jumpy. Something is definitely up...

"HERMES!" Someone screams. That would be his mother, Maia. He flinches at her voice, and the color drains from the not-black-and-blue side of his face. Weird. I narrow my eyes.

"Yeah, Mom?" He calls.

"Do you have a girl over?! Without telling me?! What are you doing?! You better not be-" She shrieks shrilly.

"No, Mom! I can explain! I'll be right there!" He turns to me. "You need to go."

"What? But I-" I begin.

"Now."

"Hermes, what is going on?" I demand. The anger drains from his voice.

"Please, just listen to me. Get out, please!" He actually sounds sort of...scared. I walk backwards towards the window. His mother's screaming grows louder, and his expression grows more desperate. I want so desperately to stay and find out what's going on, but he's ushering me out, and Maia's shrill shrieking is starting to scare me a little. Before I know it, I'm skidding down the stone wall of the cave and crashing to a stop on the ground.

As I stumble back up the path, I hear the slapping and shrieking again. And this time, I have an idea what it might be...

WAIT, I DON'T HAVE MY PAJAMA TOP!


	5. Chapter 5: Love Potions

**Here's chapter five! I didn't get as many reviews this time :(, but the ones I got were great! Please review, I love getting them! Every one makes me smile.**

**chipettejones10: Glad you liked the preview! Hermes and Artemis will be getting together pretty soon, don't worry! Thank you so much for posting this on tumblr!**

**Percy Jackson Is Life: I feel exactly the same! I ****_love _****Greek Mythology, but I always thought it was nerdy, too. I'm sorry about your friend. Hopefully you guys still keep in touch! I'm so glad you like my story. Is it really the best one you've read? That makes me ****_so _****happy! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Greek Mythology isn't mine. If it was, there would be a god of chocolate who would make it rain Hershey's everyday.**

* * *

**Artemis**

I wiggle my toes, feeling the warm earth beneath my bare feet. I should be hunting, we have a meeting in a week and surely everyone will want to eat. But it's nice by the river and the sun is shining perfectly. I have all day, why not enjoy the beauty?

"Artemis."

I groan inwardly. Way to ruin a perfect day!

"Orion," I reply politely, not moving from my position on the warm earth. He seats himself beside me.

"Shouldn't you be hunting?" He asks._ Shouldn't you be off chasing nymphs?_ I think bitterly to myself.

"It's a nice day," I offer in response. He pulls his bowstring.

"A nice day? All the more reason to hunt!" He decides, pulling me to my feet along with himself. I sigh. I used to love Orion, but now he bores me. All he ever wants to do is hunt! If I were to have a boyfriend, I would want someone who had a little more personality.

Orion and I run noiselessly through the woods, and I am reminded of the times we ran through these trees laughing, and we were merely friends. Back before he started trying to woo me. Back before the myth began, and he was just a character enjoying the time before his story began. Like Hercules, Perseus, and many others are doing at the moment. Both Hercules and Perseus are at Mt. Olympus Junior High, and Coral is absolutely enamoured with both of them. I absolutely detest Coral. She's got every boy pining for her, simply because of that cheerleading uniform she wears! Not to mention she dated Hermes. But why would that bother me? That doesn't bother me! He's free to date whoever he likes!

"There," Orion whispers, pointing to a stag standing in a clearing. He draws his bow. I draw mine.

"One, two, three!" I mouth. The arrows sail forward and bury themselves in the stag, but mine gets there first. "I win!" I taunt. He smiles, but it holds no emotion other than desire. Desire for me, and my mouth upon his. The myth has taken control of him, and it is all he can feel. He does not remember the times before the story. He does not remember that this is just a tale we are forced to play out. And most of all, he does not remember that he dies in the end.

"Of course, you always do," He complements. I giggle fakely, hoping that this will cue my brother to come trick me into killing Orion. It doesn't. We must continue the charade. Or, I must. He is unaware of the act. Orion rushes forward and collects the stag, flexing his muscles unnecessarily. I force myself to look enamoured. _It'll be over soon_, I remind myself. I can't decide if I'll miss Orion. I think I'll just be glad to get it all over with.

Orion hands me the stag and I stuff it into my game bag along with several other animals I'd already killed.

"Artemis," Orion says, smashing through bushes to lead me to his favorite berry-picking spot, "I've been wondering; you're immortal. I'm not. I'll die someday, and then I'll be gone."

"Oh? I hadn't thought about that," I reply nonchalantly. He stares at me blankly. Obviously, this was not the response he'd been looking for.

"I have."

"I don't think we should stress about it. Let's just enjoy the time we have now!"

"Oh...OK."

If only he knew.

_**Apollo**_

"..Today, we will be brewing a love potion. Please heat your cauldrons to 250 degrees!" Our teacher, Iynx (goddess of the love charm), announces.

"I got it," I say, and promptly light our cauldron on fire.

"Woah!" Hermes shouts, dousing it in water.

"Well," I begin, "I think we reached 250 degrees!" He sighs. Learning to control godly powers is the only class I don't excel in. To be honest, I'm horrible at it.

"Please turn to page 649. You'll find all the ingredients are provided," Iynx instructs. I flip the pages rapidly, then arrive on 649.

"First step: Grind up unicorn horn and add to cauldron," I read. Hermes picks up the unicorn horn and smashes it into the table. "Um, I don't think that's how we're supposed to do it," I say, holding up the mortar and pestle.

"Oh, that makes a lot more sense!" He exclaims, taking them from me and banging the pestle into the unicorn horn. "There!" He dumps the unicorn-horn-dust into our cauldron, then peers over the textbook. "Dop...what? Is that even a word? Oh! Chop. That makes more sense. Chop pen...peni...chop penis?! WHAT?!"

"Chop pencil, idiot," I sigh.

"Oh," He giggles sheepishly, "But, for the record, if we had to chop a penis, we'd use yours." I roll my eyes and hand him the pencil and a knife. He proceeds to chop it into large, uneven pieces and then throws them into the cauldron. "Next step: Poop-wait, what? P...oh! Pour. Pour melon-"

"Lemon."

"Lemon luice?"

"Lemon juice. You know what? Just let me read. Pour lemon juice in over low heat. Low heat? I can do that-"

"NO! Why don't we just use the nice, canned fire that Professor Iynx put here for us?" I sigh, take the jar, and empty it onto the burner beneath the cauldron. After a few short minutes, the concoction begins to bubble. Hermes pours in the lemon juice.

"Next, add a cup of rainbow dust and sugar at the same time," I read.

"It does not say that!" Hermes contradicts. I hand him the book.

"Yeah? Then what does it say?" I reply.

"Odd a cup of pain...bom? pain bombs! YAY! Okay, moving on, a cup of pain bombs and bug...boogers! This is gross. Pain bombs and boogers? Blech! Anyway, pain bombs and boogers at the bowe...what? This doesn't make any sense!" He mutters.

"Hermes, it says add rainbow dust and sugar. So can we please just add the rainbow dust and sugar?" I say impatiently.

"Pain bombs and boogers sounded like a lot more fun," He reasons, measuring out a cup of rainbow dust. I scoop up a cup of sugar and we toss in the ingredients. I peer into the cauldron and frown at what we've made.

"Why is ours so chunky?" I ask, wrinkling my nose.

"In case you want to impress a chunky lady?" Hermes suggests.

"Very funny. Seriously, though, no one else's looks like this," I point out.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I'm not really listening. I got up at one this morning, I'm running completely on Red Bull and sugar," He replies.

"That would explain why your hands are shaking," I reason.

"They are?" He glances down at them, "Well, look at that! I had no idea!" I roll my eyes. The bell rings, signaling the end of class.

"Students, please bottle your potions and place them on my desk for grading!" Iynx calls over the chatter.

"Not it!" Hermes cries, then zips from the room. I sigh, pour some of our unusually chunky concoction into a bottle, and place it on Iynx's desk. Well, good thing that's over! Now comes the fun part of school. English and math!


	6. Chapter 6: I Wish I Was Yours

**Chapter six is up! I appreciate the reviews I got, please keep 'em coming! I love hearing from you guys, and constructive criticism is always welcome. I send sneak peaks to anyone (with an account) who comments**

**chipettejones10: I live for your reviews! You're ****_so _****nice! Last chapter was a bit of a filler, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

**wakashark: I absolutely ****_love _****your name. It's so fun to say! You should get an account so I can send you sneak peaks! I'm glad you found it funny, humor is another thing I work really hard on. HermesXPersephone is coming up, and we've got some HestiaXAres in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology, and I'm way too tired to make a wisecrack about how unnecessary a disclaimer for an ancient, dead religion is. **

* * *

_**Artemis**_

I lean against my locker and glare at Hermes and Coral. _They ended it_, I remind myself, _and why does it matter to you?_ Despite this, I continue to glare. She's bouncing around him, giggling and flipping her curly ponytail. Her cheerleading uniform swirls around her legs, and many boys are watching her with suspicious lumps in their pants. That wasn't meant to be sexual, I'm just pointing it out. Anyway, something about her behavior makes me really mad.

"Arty," Aphrodite giggles, "someone's looking at you!" She points at Perseus and Hercules. Hercules has eyes only for Coral's skirt, but Perseus is staring right at me. He catches my eye and winks.

I shrug my shoulders.

"Well?" Aphrodite prompts, "Are you going to go talk to him?" I'm about to say no when I catch sight of Hermes and Coral again. Something angry sparks inside of me, and I change my mind.

"Why not?" I reply. Then I saunter over, flip my hair, and smile at Perseus dopily. I'm satisfied. I look like a normal teenage girl.

"Artemis," He says, seeming slightly surprised that I responded to his not-so-discreet eye-sex for once, "you look smoking today!" On the inside, I'm rolling my eyes. How could he possibly think I'm that easy to get? But on the outside, I blush and giggle.

"Thanks. You look pretty hot yourself," I reply. He nudges Hercules and jerks his head towards me, as if to say, "Look what I managed to drag over here. Get a load of her chest!"

"That's what I've been told. Don't mind me asking, but I thought you weren't into guys?" He points out. I throw a backward glance at Hermes before responding. He's fully lost interest in Coral and is hooked on Perseus and I, wearing that typical confused expression, which is typical because he never understands anything.

"I was just waiting for the right guy," I explain. Perseus puts an arm around me, which I force myself to lean into.

"You know, I always had a thought that you and I would be together," He says. That's assuming that you've ever had a thought, I think to myself. Instead, I smile at him girlishly.

"Well, you were wrong," A voice says from behind me. I'm disappointed when I see that it's my brother, simply being his over-protective self.

"Apollo," Perseus says, "your sister and I were enjoying ourselves alone. So, why don't you just run along and play your lyre somewhere else?"

"Hmmm, see, those sound likes the words of a person who wants to be burnt to a crisp," My brother replies icily. Perseus opens his mouth to respond, and I decide it's time to step in before some real fire gets thrown. Literally.

"Apollo, I'm fine. I can take care of my own life," I begin. Perseus smirks triumphantly. "And, Perseus, you were right. I'm really not into men. Bye!" And with that, I saunter away, leaving them both staring after me with dumbfounded expressions.

"What was that?!" Hermes cries.

"What was what?" I reply innocently.

"You know what," He answers. I continue to stare at him blankly. "What were you doing, flirting with Perseus?! That idiotic, shallow, rude, conceited, spoiled, lazy, vile-"

"Gods, I didn't think you knew so many words."

"Shut up! And this isn't about me. This is about you, flirting with that careless, obnoxious, nauseating, vulgar, big-headed, revolting-"

"I get it, OK? You don't like Perseus. But what's it to you if I do?"

"Oh, come on! I'm the god of lies. Don't tell me you think you can fool me! Of course you don't! You can't stand him!"

"Maybe I've changed my mind."

"People don't just change their minds about inconsiderate, ignorant, self-centered, pig-headed, heartless-"

"For Zeus's sake, would you stop listing adjectives?!"

"What's an adjective?"

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"I'll look it up later. Anyway, stay away from Perseus!"

"And why would that be your decision?"

"Because you're my friend and I want you to be happy!"

"Well, I'm perfectly fine with finding my own happiness, thank you very much."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're happy with Perseus."

"Hermes, leave me alone! So what if I'm with Perseus? What's it to you? I'm not yours."

"Fine!"

"Fine!" And with that, I pick up a canter and ride away. Shortly after, I hear hoofbeats behind me. As much as I want to turn around, I don't. I just ask Moonbeam for more speed, which he happily gives. Quicksilver will never catch us. We race along, branches grabbing at me and scratching at my face. I don't care, and I have no idea why I'm so upset. _It's not a big deal_, I tell myself. But I can't help feeling that I really do wish I was his, and when I told him I wasn't his, I wanted so badly for him to contradict me.

_**Ares**_

I wave my sword above my head before slashing it down through the dummies chest, and the stuffing falls out.

"Wow, you're tough. That doll didn't stand a chance!" Hestia appears out of the shadows. How does she manage to be so quiet? I can never tell when she's there, and then suddenly she appears and scares the f*ck out of me.

"You're right," I say, "it didn't." She climbs up onto the platform and draws her sword.

"On guard," She announces. I cross my sword with hers, and the fight begins. I'm shocked by how good a fighter she is. Every move I make, she's ready for and dodges. I swing at her chest, she blocks with her sword. I swing at her feet, she jumps. I swing at her head, she ducks. We're caught in the middle of the platform, stuck in a dangerous dance. Jump, duck, block, spin. Repeat. Then, suddenly, she drops her sword to her side, reaches up, and caresses my face. I lower my weapon as well, and start to lean in. So does she. Time slows down, and she's so close I can smell her beauty. Which smells a lot like cupcakes. Which might be her perfume. Anyway, I'm leaning in, leaning in, and...suddenly my sword is in her hand behind her back, and the tip of her sword is pressed against my throat. "I win!" She says, then leaps down off the platform and skips out, leaving me gawking.


	7. Chapter 7: I Love You (Not Really)

**Here's chapter 7! I got a few reviews, but I would love some more. I still do sneak peaks, so if you comment, I'll reward you! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was one of my favorites to write!**

**chipettejones10: Thanks again! Your positive support always makes me smile. Don't worry about Hermes, he'll get his girl eventually :)!**

**wakashark: I love getting your reviews! They're always so long and informative! I'm so glad you like the way I portray the characters. As I said before, that means a lot to me. Here's the HermesXPersephone (although it doesn't last very long, sorry!). Hopefully you'll log in so I can send you sneak peaks.**

**Disclaimer: Yup, still don't own Greek Mythology. Sorry to disappoint. Also, part of this chapter is a bit of a song-fic. The song is "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift. Shockingly enough, I am not Taylor Swift, and therefore do not own that either. All credits go to her. It's a great song, and you should all listen to it! Link is here: ****_ /O6qutPepOdc_**

**__****ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Hermes**_

I don't know how it gets around the Persephone and I are dating. But it does and she seems OK with it, so I am, too. It also gets around that she's been raped, and she starts going with me me everywhere as a way to ignore the whispers and stares. I hold her hand and stuff, but it's getting harder to be her shoulder to cry on. Mostly because my shoulder is where she typically puts her head, and it hurts like hell because my mom hit me with a skillet. Anyway, I let her whine to me, and I tell myself she had a reason to whine. I want to tell her to shut up sometimes, and that I'm abused so I really have more of a reason to be complaining. She's been raped once. I am beaten every night.

But I don't.

I don't because it's not her fault Hades raped her, whereas it's definitely my fault that my mother beats me.

Then the posters for the school dance go up, and I ask Persephone, because that's the thing to do with your girlfriend. Ares asks Hestia and Apollo finally works up the guts to ask Athena and Artemis gives me a long, infuriated glare when I ask Persephone. Then she promptly agrees to go with Perseus. The dance draws nearer and the girls go dress-shopping. The guys hang out at Ares's house, because he has a sword-fighting arena in his basement, and worry about everything. What should I say? What color corsage should I get her? Should I try to match my tie with her dress? Should I get her punch or stay with her so that some guy doesn't come snap her up? Should I kiss her? Should I do more than that? Should I keep flirting and dancing even if I hate her guts? We finally get suits to wear and then I found myself in the gym, dancing with Persephone.

She looks happy, and I mimic her expression. Across from us, Athena and Apollo are caught in lip-lock, and Hestia's head is on Ares's shoulder. I'm glad Persephone's isn't on mine. Perseus has his arms a little too low, in my opinion, but Artemis isn't arguing. She just continues to smile that fake love-struck smile, but her eyes have much more to tell. Of course, unintelligent Perseus doesn't pick up on that. The song comes to an end, and Persephone looks up at me. I smile at her, and she leans in towards me. I groan inwardly but kiss her anyway, because that's the thing to do. She kisses me longer than I'd like, but she likes it so I let her. It's a super awkward kiss, because her eyes are closed in she's super into it, and my eyes are wide open in shock. She breaks the kiss and smiles, and I smile back at her. At least, I hope it looks like a smile. I guess it does, because she wraps her arms around me.

She takes me back to her house that night and shows me around. She keeps hinting that she wants to...you know, but I pretend I can't tell. At the end of the night, she kisses me goodbye and I walk home, replaying everything that happened that night. But it isn't the happy kind of replaying where you can't believe it happened, it's the kind of replaying where try to picture Artemis instead of Persephone kissing you. And you wonder what happened to the life where everything was OK.

* * *

_"I'm king of the world!" Apollo shouts, standing up on the windowsill. His tiny, three-year-old frame doesn't even fill the whole window._

_"Not if I can help it," Artemis boasts, standing up beside her brother. She gives him a playful shove, which he returns. Pretty soon they're both trying to shove each other into the ocean below, and I stand there watching in awe. Then, suddenly, we hear a scream and a splash and Apollo is in the water. Giggling, I attempt to fly down and catch him, but I can't pull out of the dive in time. We're both in the water now, struggling to stay above the waves while Artemis laughs at us. Finally, a large wave comes and knocks us both to the shore, where we lie motionless in the sand. Artemis shrieks for help, thinking that we've been knocked unconscious, and we burst into hysterics. She scowls at us, but at only 3, she's not very scary. She yanks us to our feet and chases us around the beach, bow drawn. We scream and hide behind trees, while she fires arrows that miss the mark completely. Eventually, we all collapse in the sand and fall asleep._

Slowly, the image of our sleeping forms fade and I wake up. I push myself into a sitting position, wincing at the pain in my back and sighing at the fresh bloodstains I've left on my sheets. Gods, I wish things were as easy as they were back then. Back when Artemis would miss if she tried to shoot you. When Persephone hadn't even met Hades. When my mother never had a use for belts.

I slip out of bed and walk around my room. My hand runs over one of my drums and picks up a fine layer of dust. I don't play my drums often anymore. Mom says the noise gives her headaches. She used to love to listen to me play.

_Oh, I don't want to grow up, wish I'd never grown up, I could still be little._

I slide into the seat and pick up the drumsticks, lightly tapping the cymbal. The noise brings me back to another memory. Apollo and I were ten. He was playing guitar and I was playing drums. To sum things up, we were terrible. But Mom told us we were great and gave us cookies anyway.

_Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up, it could still be simple._

I silently slide out of the seat and stand in front of my desk. At age twelve, I carved my name and Artemis's name into it inside a heart. I trace the figure and our misspelled names with my thumb. I cross to the dresser and look at a picture of all of us. We were eleven, graduating from elementary school. Hard to believe that was three years ago. I'm hovering upside-down above Ares's head, and he's holding his sword to Apollo's throat, who'd been singing some super annoying song when the picture was taken. Artemis is wearing her usual smirk, her arms crossed over her chest. Athena's nose is buried in a book, and Aphrodite is braiding Persephone's hair. Dionysus and Hephaestus, always the best of friends, are holding hands. Hestia stands off to the side, observing all of us with a cocked head. Coral is standing with her fellow cheerleaders, doing Y-scales and cartwheels. Perseus and Hercules are eying them. Gods, so little has changed. The only difference is Orion, smiling next to Artemis. He had no desire to be anything more than friends with her then. The myth hadn't started.

_I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone._

I beg myself to stop. I beg myself not to cry. I wish I could stop thinking. I wish I could get myself away.

Sometimes I get like this. Where I can't stop the memories. Where I can't stop thinking about Mom. About who she used to be, and who she is now. And where I can't stop thinking about myself. Who I used to be. I'm not that happy-go-lucky little kid anymore. I try not to think about it, but I can't stop myself.

So I run. I just run, and I don't look back.

_**Apollo**_

"Hey, loser!"

I whirl around and am faced with two nymphs, both seniors in high school. Are they talking to me?

"Me?" I say.

"Yeah, we're talking to you!" One replies menacingly. Then, he turns to the other and asks, "Why are we talking to him?" The other one rolls his eyes.

"We're having a party," He explains, "do you and Wise Girl want to come?"

"You mean Athena and I, come to one of your parties?" I echo in disbelief.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" The first one replies.

"No!" I say hurriedly, "We'd love to come!"

"Good," The second one says, "be there at ten." Then he and his friend saunter away. Still dumbfounded, I begin the walk to English. Athena catches up with me and puts an arm around me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"So," She says, "what are you doing tonight?"

"You and I are going to a party," I tell her, "a senior party." Her eyes widen in shock.

"Apollo, do you know what they do at those parties?!" She exclaims.

"I guess we'll find out," I reply, shrugging. She shakes her head.

"I don't want to find out."

"Oh, come on! Live a little!"

"I'm good."

"Athena, eighth graders got invited to a senior party. That never happens! Can we please go?"

"Fine."

* * *

My head feels like it's been stuffed with cotton, everything is blurry, the senior's laughter sounds like nails on a chalkboard, and I have no idea what I just drank. That's the bad news. The good news? Athena is just as drunk, so someone won't be saying "I told you so."

"Get a load of this kid!" One of the seniors exclaims, pointing at me as I pet the carpet.

"This..." I slur, "this carpet is really soft..." The seniors laugh. "What's so funny?" I ask. They just snicker and point at me. Suddenly, Athena tugs on my hand.

"Wanna go up there?" She asks, jerking her head towards the staircase. The seniors wolf-whistle and watch us intently. I nod. She smiles, grabs my hand, and leads me up the stairs and into an empty bedroom. We fall on the bed, and the kissing turns to undressing, and undressing turns to touching, and then...I don't really want to get into details. We...make love. It's amazing. But what will happen when we come around?


	8. Chapter 8: Training Camp

**Chapter 8 is up! We are getting ****_sosososososo _****close to Hermes and Artemis's first kiss :D! I don't think I got ****_any_**** reviews on my last chapter :(. Please leave a review! Pleasepleaseplease I'll bake you a cake. I've totally forgotten to do sneak peaks lately, but I promise I'll do them this time if you leave a review! P**

**Disclaimer: Whaddaya know, Greek Mythology still isn't mine. Darn.**

* * *

Artemis

"No way!"

"Yup."

"They didn't."

"Oh, but they so did."

I slash at Hermes's feet, and he leaps out of the way.

"I can't believe it," He says, jabbing at my stomach. I roll sideways. "Apollo and Athena! You'd never guess it would be them."

"You know," I reply, swinging at his sword (he parries the blow), "Aphrodite and Ares have already done it."

"They don't count," He reasons, ducking under my sword.

"Why not?" I duck beneath my shield as he brings his sword down upon it.

"Because Aphrodite does it with, like, everyone. And Ares...well, he's just...Ares." A whistle blows, calling time for lunch.

"You got lucky," I say, "I was about to beat you."

"Sure," He scoffs, giving me that adorable smirk. We slip through the fence-being too lazy to wait in line at the gate- and enter the dining pavilion at training camp.

Training camp. I'm not sure if I love it or if I hate it, but for Winter break, Spring break, and all of Summer, it's home. Apparently, we don't get enough training in school. So this is where I find myself, sitting at a picnic table in the unusually warm December air. The other girls are already interrogating Athena.

"What was it like?"

"Does he have abs?"

"Of course he does. Doesn't he, Athena?"

"How big was it?"

"How big was what? Oh, you don't mean...?!"

"Of course she does. Well, how big?"

"Oh, hello Artemis!" Hestia says. The other girls rip their eyes off of Athena and turn to me. They stare at me intently.

"Well?" Aphrodite says.

"What?" I reply.

"What did Apollo say about it?" Coral prompts.

"Nothing," I say, "he just passed out in the bathroom after puking out all the alcohol he had." They seem disappointed. Hestia covers he laughter with her hand.

"I'm leaving," Athena says, starting to get up from her chair.

"Wait!" Persephone cries.

"What?" Athena sighs.

"How do you make a boy kiss you? And I mean really kiss you," She says. Athena shrugs.

"I don't know. Apollo just did," She explains.

"Maybe Hermes just isn't the kissing type," Aphrodite suggests.

"No, he definitely is. He kissed me all the time, for the two days we were together," Coral interjects. Hermes chooses this time to walk past our table. Persephone jumps up.

"Hey, baby!" She cries, throwing her arms around him and kissing him full on the lips.

"Mmmmmmmm?!" He says against her lips, seemingly shocked. Hestia and I burst into hysterics. Persephone breaks the kiss, Hermes stares at her in confusion. "Ummm...thanks, honey...?" He says, continuing the walk to the trash can with a half confused, half terrified look on his face. Persephone throws herself back down in her seat.

"I thought I finally had it right," She sighs.

"CAMPERS! PLEASE GO TO YOUR NEXT ACTIVITY!" The camp director, Odysseus, shouts. We climb out of our seats and begin the walk to the arena. Supposedly, we'll be fighting a new monster today.

"Hey, sweetcheeks. Any idea what we're fighting today?" I'm about to turn around and slap Perseus across the face for calling me "sweetcheeks" when I realize it isn't him. It's Achilles. Achilles lives at training camp. Due to his curse, he has to stay well protected. Junior high is just too dangerous.

"No idea," I admit.

"Dragon," He says, "poisonous. Armored tail. Wanna bet?"

"No," I reply, "because I know you snuck in and found out." He gives me his "innocent" face.

"I did not! I'm a good boy," He argues. Just then, Perseus saunters over.

"I hope you're not flirting with my woman," He growls. I roll my eyes and make a face behind his back. Achilles stifles laughter.

"Never. I would never risk the wrath of Perseus," He says, throwing his hands up. He's mocking Perseus, but the idiot can't tell.

"Good," Perseus hisses, putting a protective arm over me.

"CAMPERS!" Odysseus shouts, "MEET YOUR MONSTER!" A medium sized green dragon bursts out of the double oak doors. I glance at Achilles, who mouths, "I told you." "PLEASE SELECT YOUR WEAPONS AND ENTER THE ARENA!" Odysseus instructs. I grab a bow and arrows and file through the gate, immediately taking refuge in a tree. From there, I see my brother, Ares, and Hermes crouched behind a wooden wall. Aphrodite, Coral, and Persephone are doing their hair behind a bush. Athena and Hestia are pressed up against the wall of the arena. Dionysus and Hephaestus are hidden behind trees. Perseus, Hercules, and Achilles are nowhere to be found. I lean forward out of the tree to eavesdrop on other's plans.

"Maybe we should try distracting it. You know, like, one of us annoys it and almost gets eaten, and the others attack it and kill it," Hermes suggests. Sheer brilliance, I think.

"OK. You distract it," Ares replies.

"What?! Why me?!" Hermes cries.

"You're the one that can fly, Fairy Feet," Ares replies.

"Fine," Hermes groans. He slowly emerges from behind the wall and shouts, "Hey, big dragon thingy! Come and eat me!" It roars and shoots fire at him. He leaps out of the way. "Now would be the time to come and kill it!" He hisses at my brother and Ares.

"Alright, we're coming Wing-Head," Ares sighs, drawing his sword. He pushes himself over the wooden wall and swings at the dragon. It shoots off a spike at him. Meanwhile, Hermes flies into the tree that I've hidden in. The dragon fires another spike at Ares, who runs back behind the wall and sends my brother forward. Apollo shoots an arrow, which strikes the dragon in between the eyes. Enraged, it spreads its wings and beats him to the ground. When it retreats, I see my brother lying unconscious on the ground.

"Apollo!" I shriek.

"Shhhh!" Hermes hisses. Too late. The dragon turns it's head towards us and lights the tree on fire. Shrieking, I fall from the branches, landing on my elbows. Pain erupts in my arms, but I ignore it and scramble behind a wall. Hermes, who has long since leapt from the burning boughs of the tree, is attempting to reach Apollo's body. The dragon follows his movement, protecting its kill. Hermes dashes forward, passing the dragon, but not unscathed. It rips through his pants and his skin with enormous jaws, but he keeps flying. Athena bursts forward to distract it, while Hermes collects Apollo's unconscious body. Whilst Athena battles it, Aphrodite lets her ivory disk fly. In one clean motion, it slices the dragon's head clean off his shoulders.

Odysseus's whistle sounds, calling us all from the arena. As we file out, I notice that we've clearly got a lot of work to do before we're as good as we were last summer. Hermes is limping heavily. Hestia is pulling a blood-soaked spike from Ares's arm. Apollo is unconscious in Athena's arms. My own body has taken a hit too. My face is scratched and slightly burnt. My arms are bleeding, especially my elbows. My Coccyx bone (yes, that's a fancy word for butt) aches from the fall.

We only make it about twelve feet from the arena before Hermes collapses.

* * *

We only make it about twelve feet from the arena before Hermes collapses.

I sit in a white plastic chair in the infirmary, my hands clenched in fists. My thumb rubs at my index finger, irritating the skin.

It's a tick.

Odysseus always told me never to develop a tick. A tick is a nervous habit, generally a small repeated motion, like biting your nails. Ticks are basically flashing signs that tell your opponent, "I'm nervous!" "I'm jumpy!" "I'm tense!"

"Calm down," Apollo says, placing a hand on my shoulder, "he'll be OK." Apollo looks tired. Which makes sense, as he just came back to consciousness and has been healing everyone since he came to. My elbows are bandaged, Ares's arm is in a sling, and Apollo has a bandage around his head. Hermes is still unconscious in one of the infirmary cots. After dragging him here, we found that in a matter of ten minutes, the wound on his leg had festered and the skin around it turned a disgusting greenish grey. That was when I remembered what Achilles told me. "Dragon. Poisonous. Armored tail. Wanna bet?" Poisonous. And it bit him.

Suddenly, Hermes's eyes flutter open.

"Are you OK?" I demand.

"Yeah, I'm fi-I'm gonna hurl," He says, leaping out of bed and running to the bathroom. We hear the sound of a door slamming, and then retching.

"Charming," I mutter. Apollo sighs and gets to his feet, following Hermes to the bathroom. I lean backwards in my chair, my thumb rubbing faster against my pointer finger. He's awake, I think to myself, he'll be OK. But I continue ticking. My brother emerges from the bathroom, Hermes leaning heavily against him. He falls asleep almost instantly, and I go back to wondering if he'll ever wake up.

"Artemis," Odysseus says, placing a hand on my shoulder, "you should return to your cabin. Your friends will be worrying."

"They know I'm here," I assure him, "I'll stay, if that's alright." He smiles at me.

"Of course, my child. Funny to think that the great huntress would have a weakness for the messenger, of all people." Then he walks away. Odysseus has always been a funny person. For one, he calls everyone "my child". That and what he just said. He couldn't be right, could he? The great huntress, have a weakness for the messenger? Ridiculous. Hermes is just a friend. And I am a maiden goddess. Men mean nothing to me. Hermes means nothing to me. Right?

* * *

One o'clock in the morning. We've been here eleven hours. I've snatched minutes of sleep here and there, but I've mostly been awake, worrying. Hermes has come in and out of sleep, mostly waking only to vomit. Which has been just delightful. Apollo has been alternating between studying the dragon and healing other patients. And I've just been sitting here, worrying. The infirmary makes one worry, with its awful stench of medicines and sounds of discomfort. Everyone is groaning, or screaming, or retching, or something else gross to listen to.

Just then, Hermes wakes again. I'm about to say something, but I'm cut off by his coughing. It's not this that frightens me, coughing is something usually done by sick people. No, it's the blood that's coming with the coughing. Frantic, I call for my brother. Odysseus tries to calm me down while Apollo gives Hermes some gross syrupy concoction. Hermes has only just gotten it down when it comes back up, along with a river of blood. Apollo can do nothing but shove a bucket in front of him, and I almost lose it. People are staring. I'm screaming. Hermes won't stop vomiting and there is so much blood.

"Artemis, my child, calm down. It will be alright," Odysseus assures me.

"Stop!" I scream, "Stop telling me it will be alright! What if it's not?! He's vomiting up blood, and you're telling me it's going to be alright?!"

"Artemis, I think it's best if you go back to your cabin," Odysseus says, always calm.

"No!" I cry, "I'm staying with him!" Odysseus says nothing, just begins to pull me from the scene.

"Artemis!" Hermes says weakly. I struggle against Odysseus's arms.

"Let me go," I hiss. "Let me go!" He ignores me and continues towards the door. I draw my bow. "I'll shoot," I threaten, "I swear to the gods I'll shoot!"

"No, you won't," Odysseus replies, unbelievably calm, "I know you, Artemis. You won't." I remove a finger from the bowstring. Odysseus chuckles, still unafraid. "Don't, Artemis. You'll regret it." I drop my weapon. "There, there. He'll be alright. He needs rest, and you do too." I don't reply, but I let him lead me back to my cabin. I feel numb with fear and worry. Odysseus leaves me in the cabin, instructing Athena to "keep a close eye on Artemis, and don't let her leave". No one talks to me, but I can feel Athena's eyes upon me as I feign slumber. Eventually, the faking turns to reality and I fall asleep, diving into a world filled with nightmares. I dream that I am frantically swimming through a blood river. I dream that I am back in the infirmary, being told that Hermes will never wake up. I dream that I myself have been poisoned, but I am alone. No one is here to help me.

Oddly enough, I dream about kissing him.


	9. Chapter 9:A Door Closed, A Window Opened

**I finally have chapter 9 up! Sorry for the wait. First I got sick :(, and then I was in DC, so I didn't have time. Thanks for the reviews! Please tell me what you think. I give sneak peaks to anyone who comments.**

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**chipettejones10: Thanks again for ****_another _****awesome review! You already know what happens in part of this chapter, but there's new content as well, and who wouldn't want to relive ****_that _****:)?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Greek Mythology. Plot twist. **

* * *

_**Artemis**_

I can't concentrate. I have no idea why I'm even here, as I should be in the infirmary. But Odysseus insisted that I go to at least a few of my activities. So here I am, losing badly to Achilles.

"Wow, sweetcheeks. Someone's really out of practice," He says, knocking me to the ground. I scramble up and grab my sword before he can.

"I'm not out of practice," I argue, swinging at his sword and missing, "I'm going easy on you."

"OK, sure," He replies, knocking my sword out of my hand. I hastily pick it up. Odysseus sighs. You can take him, I tell myself, he's not even a god.

"Take that!" I cry, knocking him back against the walls of the sword fighting arena. Achilles slumps to the ground, unconscious. "Oh my gods," I breathe, covering my mouth with my hand, "I-I didn't mean to! I was just...we were...I thought...I'm so sorry!" I kneel on the ground beside him, and that's when I see the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly. "You jerk!" I cry, slapping him lightly. He bursts out laughing.

"Your face!" He chokes out,"That was priceless! 'Oh my gods, I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!' "

"Shut up," I snap.

"Sorry, sorry," He says,"But that was hysterical! Oh gods, I got you good!"

"Let's remember who's got the sword!" I point out, shoving my blade up against his neck.

"Oh, you wanna fight, sweetcheeks?" He challenges. He reaches for his sword, which he dropped when he hit the wall, but I'm faster. I grab it and secure it behind me back. Achilles gives me his carefree grin. "OK, sugarpie, you win." Odysseus blows his whistle, drawing us out of the arena.

"Good fight," He commends us. "You had her, Achilles. What did you do wrong?"

"I forgot we were still fighting," He says.

"Yes," Odysseus replies, "it's always good to know when you are fighting and when you are not." The class laughs. We take our places with everyone else as Athena and Ares enter the arena. Odysseus comes up behind me while I watch them battle it out. "Well fought," He says, "you may join your brother in the infirmary now. He won't admit it to you, but Hermes has been asking for you all day."

I barely remember to thank Odysseus before I race towards the infirmary. Me. He was asking for me. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. Better yet, he's awake. I run faster. The worry almost fully leaves me, because I know that he's OK. And he wants me. And I'm coming to him. Everything will be alright. I burst through the doors of the infirmary and refrain from yelling his name. My brother greets me. He seems less stressed than yesterday, which I take as a good sign.

"Hey, little sis!" He greets, "What brings you here? Come to help me bandage wounds? It really is a fun business!" I glare at him.

"You know why I'm here," I say impatiently, "how is he?"

"Better," Apollo replies, leading my through a maze of cots. He stops in front of a set of curtains.

"What are these for?" I ask, gesturing to them.

"We figured the other patients didn't want to watch him vomit up blood," Apollo reasons.

"Can I go in?" I request.

"I don't know, can you?" My brother shoots back, always his annoying self.

"Very funny," I groan. "May I go in?"

"Sure," He replies, "why not?" I push back the curtains and step inside. Hermes is awake, staring at the ceiling. His face lights up when he sees me.

"Artemis!" He cries. I rush forward, throwing my arms around him.

"Oh my gods, I was so worried! I couldn't think about anything else! Achilles was beating me in a sword fight-" I blubber. Apollo snickers behind me. I whirl around and glare at him. "Go away!" I snap. Still laughing, he throws his hands in the air in mock terror and retreats. My eyes drop to the floor. "You scared me, Fairy Feet," I mutter.

"Don't worry," He assures me, "I'm OK." He pats the spot beside him on the cot and I sit down. "So," He says, his usual devilish grin re-appearing, "you lost to Achilles?" I slap his arm.

"I won," I explain, "but barely."

"Even I could beat Achilles."

"I was worried about you, Wing-Head."

"Like I said, I'm fine. Wanna see my festering wound? It's pussing!"

"That's gross!"

"Just kidding. It stopped pussing an hour ago."

"Still gross." He smiles at me and I make a face at him. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but seriously! That's disgusting! There's a long, comfortable silence. I stare into his eyes, and he stares into mine. Then I'm leaning in and he's leaning in...and fireworks. Our lips meet, and it's magic. He runs his finger through my hair and I wrap my arms around him. I forget my vow of virginity, because everything feels so right. We don't even pause for breath, until he suddenly breaks it.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing, I just-" And he leans over the side of the bed and starts vomiting blood again. I try to remain calm, remembering how I tried to shoot the camp director the last time this happened.

"Apollo!" I call, trying not to sound as terrified as I am. He runs over and pushes past me. I turn my back to the scene, because I can't stand the sight and I've never felt more useless.

"Artemis," Apollo instructs, "you should go." I nod. I don't want to fight this time, I don't even want to look. I can hear the gagging noises and it sounds worse than yesterday. So I run, like the coward I am. Everyone moves out of my way as I sprint for the exit. I can think of nothing but leaving, yet every bone in my body tells me to go back. I feel one thing: shame. I'm so ashamed that I just left him. I didn't even try to help. What a great friend I am! Friend? Or is it more than that now? That kiss, words wouldn't do it justice.

"Hey, cupcake! Slow down!" Achilles cries, grabbing my arms and stopping me. Which is good, because I don't know where I was going. "What's going on?" He asks.

"Nothing," I mutter, eyes downcast. He looks me over, then shrugs. Achilles doesn't like to worry about things.

"OK, well, want to be on my team?" He asks.

"For what?" I reply.

"Evening activity. We're playing Gold Rush. So far I've got Hercules, Persephone, Athena, Echo, Coral, Willow, and Apollo on my team. We need three more people and then we'll meet at Cabin 6 to make a plan," He explains. I shrug my shoulders.

"Sure," I reply, "why not?" He smiles.

"We're gonna kill 'em!" He says, before jogging away to hang out with the other heroes. I'm surprised he's got such a wide arrange of people on his team. At camp and at MOJH (Mount Olympus Junior High, we basically have three classes: gods, heroes, and nymphs. Persephone, Athena, Apollo, and I are gods. Hercules and Achilles are heroes. Willow, Coral, and Echo are nymphs. It's a good team, but it puts us against Perseus, Hephaestus, and Ares. Also Aphrodite and Hestia, but I don't consider them huge threats against Athena and I. Achilles can take Perseus any day, which leaves Apollo and Hercules to take care of Hephaestus and Ares. I'm not sure if I like my brother's chances against the war god. My strategy would be to take Echo, Willow, and Persephone with them and defeat Hephaestus and Ares by sheer numbers. But then, who would we have to take out Dionysus and the nymphs? I suppose we'll talk strategy at the meeting.

The bell sounds, and I walk to the pavilion, emotionless and numb. Everything about me seems to be numb lately. I can't feel anything but worry. Worry, and now, shame.

"Are you excited for Gold Rush?" Athena asks me. I shrug.

"Sure," I say, "I guess."

"I don't even remember how to play," Persephone groans.

"It's easy. There are painted rocks littered all around the forest. You have to get as many to your territory as possible, and protect others from taking yours," Athena explains.

"Hermes started vomiting blood again today," I blurt out randomly, "Apollo had to put curtains around his bed so the other patients wouldn't stare."

"That's...charming," Hestia mutters.

"Yup. And he told me his cut is pussing." I don't know why I'm telling them this. I guess I'm just confused.

"That's...totally disgusting," Hestia says.

"I should visit him, shouldn't I? Isn't that what girlfriends and boyfriends do?" Persephone asks, totally clueless. She hasn't had much of a love life, as she was married at age eight.

"Yes, and some girlfriend you are! I haven't seen you in the infirmary once!" I snap suddenly.

"Artemis..." Athena cuts in.

"Newsflash: He doesn't love you. Which is good, because you're a sorry excuse for a girlfriend! Who was there when he vomited up blood twice? It wasn't you, that's for sure! It was me. And who carried him to the infirmary while you screamed and ran in circles? Me. And who did he kiss today? And I mean actually kiss. Not just stand there while you rub your lips on his face. Me." I get up from the table and run back to our cabin, ignoring the sounds of Persephone's sobs as I exit the pavilion. I grab my bow and arrows and run to the arena, shooting dummies with arrows until stuffing explodes out of them. It's satisfying, but I can't figure out why I'm so angry.

I don't play Gold Rush that night. Instead, I lie on my bed and replay every happy memory I've ever had with Hermes. Because how many more will we get?

* * *

Odysseus tells me to go to my morning activities again. I don't. I go straight to the infirmary, and am greeted with the happiest sight since this all began.

Hermes is walking.

He's limping heavily around the infirmary, but he moves much faster when he sees me. I don't think now is a good time to tell him what I said to Persephone. He throws his arms around me, and I almost cry with relief. Almost. Make no mistake, the great huntress does not cry. Especially not over boys. And most especially not over boys like stupid, crazy Hermes. Stupid, crazy, and somehow I've fallen for him.

He leads me back to his cot, and we stand in front of the bed and kiss for a while. The same magic that happened yesterday returns, and I'm lost in the feeling. His hands are in my hair again and mine wrap tighter around his neck. Needless to say, I'm glad for the curtains. I don't taste that slight bloody flavor that I tasted yesterday, which I take as a good sign. We sit down on the bed, still lost in love and emotion. Everything is right and happy and bloodless, until Hermes breaks away and collapses on the ground, writhing around and making grotesque gasping noises.

Hermes

One moment my fingers are in her hair, and her lips are pressed against mine, and it's everything I've ever dreamed of (literally, I have dreams about this). The next, I can't feel anything but pain. I drop to the ground and twist in agony. Breathing becomes unimportant, all I can concentrate on is this white hot burning sensation, surging through my bones. When I do remember to breathe, it comes in shallow, painful gasps. Artemis screams for Apollo, and he appears with a syringe. He stabs it into my neck, but I don't feel that pain. I can only feel the pain ten times worse than the belt. And then, suddenly, it's all gone. Everything starts to fade, until it all goes black. Artemis's terror-filled eyes are the last thing I see.

* * *

_"Where have you been?!" My mother shrieks, backing me up against the wall._

_"Training camp," I stammer, "We were supposed to go there-"_

_"And you didn't tell me?!"_

_"I-I did tell you. You had to sign a permission slip, remember?"_

_"Don't talk back to me!"_

_"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!"_

_"Well, that's how it came out!" I close my eyes and cower against the wall, shrieking in pain as the belt hits my back. "You like that?" My mother says, "There's more where that came from!" I slide down the wall, screaming. The rhythmic slap of the belt creates some kind of sick beat._

_"Stop!" I cry, "Please, I'm sorry!" I open my eyes, and I don't recognize the woman before me. I know she's my mother, but her eyes are wide and crazed with anger. Her teeth are bared. Her arm is raised above her head, then it sails down and delivers another blow. Then, as she raises her arm again, it turns into a green wing. Her body transforms before me, and she is the dragon we fought in the arena. It opens its jaws wide, and suddenly all I can see is the dark cavern that is the inside of it's mouth. I brace myself for the impact of its jaws around my neck. Three, two, one..._

"Hermes! Hermes, wake up!" My eyes flutter open, and I see Artemis standing above me.

"I'm sorry," I babble, "I didn't mean to."

"What are you talking about?" She asks, giving me a funny look. I stare at her in confusion.

"I...I really don't know," I say. She places a hand on my forehead.

"You're burning," She mutters, though I don't think she's talking to me, "I'll get Apollo."

"Wait!" I cry. She turns around.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"I...I..."I flounder. And then I burst into tears. She wraps her arms around me, but I'm not really sure why I'm crying. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm terrified, and I don't want to go home. I don't want to go back to my mother. I'm worried about what she'll do what I come home. Oh, shoot, I haven't written her yet! She'll kill me, literally. I don't know if I have enough skin left for her to lacerate. Oh, look, I just used a big word. "Lacerate". Mm-hmm, I'm that cool. Hey, what does "lacerate" mean? You know what? Let's just forget about this.

"Hermes," Artemis says, "What were you dreaming about?"

"Uh, well, it was horrific," I stammer, "Um...there was no more pie! Gods, it was awful. All the pie was just gone. Like that. Poof." She rolls her eyes, but I know I've fooled her.

"Horrific," She comments sarcastically, "I can't imagine anything worse."

"Neither can I," I reply. She shakes her head at me. Just then, we hear footsteps outside the curtains.

"That's probably Apollo," She sighs, "I should go." She gets up and walks through the curtains, and I strain my ears to hear their conversation.

"What's going on?" Apollo whispers, "Why was he screaming?" Screaming? I was screaming? Well, that's embarrassing. Especially if it was just over pie. Wait, that was a lie. Sometimes I confuse myself.

"Fever induced nightmare," Artemis explains. Gods, why does she have to use such big words? Who in Zeus's name knows what "induced" means?

"What about?" Apollo asks.

"Pie," Artemis answers simply.

"Can't say I'm surprised," Apollo 's that supposed to mean? That I'm stupid and upset by things that don't matter? That's...actually entirely true.

Well, that sucks.

* * *

"Last time you threw up blood?"

"Two days ago."

"Last time you coughed up blood?"

"Three days ago."

"Alright, I guess you're good to go!"

"YES!" I zoom out of the infirmary (literally), and take in training camp. It feels like the first day, but in reality we're right about at the midway point. In another week, we'll go back to MOJH. All over, campers are training. Archers are shooting at tennis balls in the archery section. Persephone and Achilles are going at it in sword fighting. In the arena, some nymphs are trying their hand at a Leukrokottas (it's cool, click it). I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to go, but I spot Odysseus overseeing things in the pavillion. So, I walk over there.

"Hermes!" He greets, always smiling, "Good to see you back!"

"Good to be back," I reply. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Where do you want to go?" He says.

"Where's Artemis?" I ask. He smiles.

"Climbing wall," He answers.

"Thanks!" I call, bolting over. She's already halfway up the enormous wall. I crane my neck to get a good look at her. She reaches up and grabs a rock, hauling herself up a few feet and dangling by one arm. "How long has this taken her?" I ask the person next to me. Just my luck. It's Ares.

"Hey, Fairy Feet's back!" He shouts. Everyone whirls around, including Artemis, who loses her precarious (big word) grip and starts to plummet towards earth.

"Idiot!" Apollo hisses.

"What did I do?" I ask.

"Not you, Ares!" Apollo replies, "You can't just assume that whenever someone says 'idiot' they're talking about you."

"I hate to break up this little pow-wow here, but someone needs to grab Artemis before she goes splat," Hephaestus interjects.

"I've got her," I volunteer, rushing forward and catching her at the last minute. Artemis smiles at me.

"You're back!" She cries. I nod happily. "Are you allowed to be flying?" She asks.

"No," I reply, "but since when have I listened to rules?"

"Good point. Now put me down!" She insists. I set her down on the ground with everyone else.

"Smooth landing, Arrow-Brain," Ares smirks.

"Oh, like you could do better," She scoffs.

"I most certainly could!" He replies.

"Sure. As if."

"Wanna race? I'll wear flashing lights so you can see me even when I get too far in front."

"That's a good one! 'Too far in front'! Like that'll ever happen!"

"Yup," I sigh, "everything is back to normal."

* * *

We're sitting on the floor, doing homework, when the door to our cabin swings open. It reveals Odysseus and a boy we've never seen before.

"Boys, we have a new camper," Odysseus announces. "Meet Jason."

Jason raises his hand in a greeting, and an uncomfortable silence settles in. "Well," Odysseus says, "I'll just leave you boys to it, then." Then he slips out the door. Jason continues to stare blankly at us.

"Hi!" I exclaim, to break the silence, "I'm Hermes." Jason doesn't say anything. The boys go around the circle and introduce themselves.

"My name's Apollo," Apollo says, "welcome to camp!"

"Ares," Ares grunts.

"I'm Dionysus, and this is Hephaestus," Dionysus says. Hephaestus nods.

"I'm Achilles, and this is Perseus, and Hercules," Achilles informs Jason.

"I don't mean to be rude," Jason begins, "but who are you?" Perseus frowns. Achilles gives Jason one of his carefree smiles. As usual, Hercules remains expressionless.

"We're heroes," Achilles explains. "Well, heroes-in-the-making. Are you a nymph?"

"No, I'm Jason. From The Argo," Jason answers. We stare at him blankly. " 'Jason and the Argonauts'?" He prompts. We remain silent. "Never heard of it?" We shake our heads. "Well, I'm a hero. I'm going to find the Golden Fleece." We don't look any less confused. Jason sighs. "So, what are you guys doing?" He asks, desperate to change the subject.

"Homework," Apollo replies happily.

"I honestly have no idea," I admit, "something with a bunch of numbers. And words. It's my worst nightmare."

"It's called physics," Dionysus sighs, "and these are word problems."

"Like I said: I honestly have no idea," I repeat.

"You get homework at training camp?" Jason asks.

"No, this is from school," Apollo explains, "we're only here for Winter break."

"Not me!" Achilles cheers.

"Yup, you're stuck with him all year. And the next one, and the next one, and the next one," Ares groans.

"I'm delightful!" Achilles cheers. We're silent. No one knows how to respond to this.

"Fuck this shit," Ares says, throwing his pencil across the room.

"My thoughts exactly," Perseus says.

"What's the plan?" Hephaestus asks, "Are we still going to the park?"

"We can't!" Apollo cries, "that's against the rules! You can't leave camp!"

"Fine. We'll leave you here. Have fun!" I tell him, getting to my feet and walking to the door with the other boys.

"OK, I'm coming! I hate being alone in the dark!" He squeals, running over to us.

"You're so tough and manly," Hephaestus says sarcastically. We step out of the cabin and look around.

"Counselor over there!" Ares whispers.

"Same plan as usual?" I ask. Ares nods, handing me the rope. "Three, two, one, takeoff!" I leap into the air, feeling the same momentary weight, and then we're all airborne. "Someone needs to direct me," I remind them, "I can't tell left from right."

"Go this way, smart one," Apollo instructs, pointing towards the pavillion. I turn towards it, jerking everyone else behind me roughly to the side.

"Easy there Fairy Feet!" Ares calls, "I want to survive this!" I give the rope another jerk just to bother him.

"There, turn left," Apollo says.

"Which way is left?" I ask.

"Towards that big tree," He sighs. I take another sharp turn. "Now down."

"Coming in for a landing!" I shout.

"Brace yourselves!" Ares warns them. I dive downwards, then crash into the ground. The boys land in a heap behind me.

"Well," I say, "that was fun!" Ares glares at me.

"Race you to the trampoline!" Achilles challenges. We rush forward, leaving Apollo far behind as he's literally the slowest moving being on the planet. I get there ages before the others, and wait beneath the trampoline for them. Ares reaches me first. I scoot closer to the edge, and just as he's about to climb onto it, I jump out at him.

"I'M YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!" I shout, "GIRLS THAT AREN'T NAKED!" Ares screams and runs for the others. "Calm your tits, Dumbo, it's just me," I laugh, jogging after him.

"I hate you," He hisses.

"I got you so good!" I cheer, pointing at him and laughing. We reach the trampoline and clamber on.

"Let's play popcorn," Ares suggests, a menacing glint in his eye. "Hermes, you sit down." He pushes me down.

"Wait, guys, I don't think this is-" But I'm too late. They all start bouncing, and I rocket into the air. "I knew this would happen," I sigh. I sail through the air, propelled by the wings on my helmet, humming "Defying Gravity". Get it? Cause I'm flying? Defying Gravity? OK, not my best joke. I slow down, then am still in the air for a moment. Then I plummet down towards Earth. "Coming through!" I scream. The boys scatter to the edge, and I land face-down on the trampoline.

"Nice landing, Herpes," Ares snickers.

"For the last time," I sigh, "it's Hermes. Not Herpes."

"I don't see the difference," He replies, shrugging. Suddenly, we hear far-off voices and laughter. It sounds oddly familiar.

"That's not...?" Apollo begins.

"They didn't!" Dionysus gasps.

"They did. It's them," I confirm. The girls decided to ditch camp and come to the park too.

"This is just great," Hephaestus groans.

"Why don't we go crash their party?" Achilles suggests, "Sounds like they're headed for the hot springs." So we race off towards the lake and the springs, meeting the shocked girls there. They stare at us for a moment, dumbfounded. Then it's decided that we should all just stay at the springs together. The girls ditch their cover-ups and strut about in their bikinis, and the boys toss their shirts on the ground. Except me. I can't let them see what's on my back. Eventually the awkward eye-sex and stolen glances at the skimpy bikinis cease, and we clamber into the largest spring. Except me. I loiter by the edge, hoping no one will notice me. No such luck.

"Why aren't you swimming?" Coral asks, beckoning me in with her hand. I shrug.

"It's too cold," I reply.

"This is a hot spring," She reminds me, "it's warmer in than out." I chew my lip nervously, hastily trying to come up with my next lie.

"Hermes is just uncomfortable with his body," Ares smirks, "he doesn't want to take his shirt off." I've never loved Ares more. Come to think of it, I've never loved Ares. I don't think I've ever even liked Ares.

"We won't judge you," Persephone cuts in.

"Yeah, and it's dark anyway," Aphrodite points out. She's right, it is dark. They probably won't be able to see the cuts, scars, or bruises. Shrugging, I pull my shirt over my head and slip into the spring, instantly regretting it. The hot water burns against my raw skin, or lack-thereof. There isn't much skin left. I grit my teeth in agony and hastily wrench myself out. Artemis throws me a puzzled look, which I pretend not to see. I sit on the edge of the spring, dangling my legs, which aren't cut or bruised as badly.

"I'll give the first person that gets in the lake three drachmas," Dionysus announces.

"Apollo wins!" Artemis cries, shoving her brother into the icy water.

"Oh gods!" He splutters, "I hate you so much! You're coming in with me!" He reaches up, grabs her hand, and yanks her in. She splashes around, squealing and cursing.

"Hermes is next!" Ares says. He shoves me off my precarious position on the edge of the spring and into the water. The cold is possibly worse than the hot. It feels like having a thousand icy knives driven into each whiplash, each bruise, each cut, each open wound. I thrash for a moment, but then the pain takes over and I forget to swim. I sink further into the water, and the temperature drops as I go deeper. My lungs scream for air, but I'm too distracted to swim to the surface. Besides, I'm too far down to get up in time, and every little movement is agony. Suddenly, I hear a shrill, underwater shriek, and a hand grabs mine. I'm yanked to the surface, coughing and spluttering and gasping for air. Artemis is beside me, and I realize she was the one that pulled me up. All eyes are on me, and everyone is silent. But I'm still in the water, and I can only think of one thing: I need to get out. I swim desperately for the shore, ignoring the pain. I pull myself onto the rocky beach, arching my back painfully against the gravel and dirt.

"What just happened?" Ares asks, breaking the silence. Good question. I need a cover story, fast. "Did Herpes just forget how to swim?" Hey, that'll work.

"Yup. It's been a while," I reply.

"You live next to an ocean," Artemis reminds me.

"It's a very cold ocean," I say. I'm on a roll now. "I don't swim in it much. There's a shark family living in an underwater cave, and they'll eat your face."

"Seriously?!" Ares gasps.

"Of course not, idiot," Athena replies, rolling her eyes. "He's obviously lying."

"I am not!" I defend indignantly.

"Hermes, when have you ever told the truth?" Athena sighs.

"When...um...well...there was that time...yeah, you're right. I've never told the truth," I admit.

"I'm always right," She replies proudly. We spend another hour at the spring, during which my incident is (thankfully) forgotten due to a game of truth or dare. This results in Apollo having to dance everywhere he goes tomorrow, Ares having to wear underwear on his head, and Persephone having to ask Odysseus to marry her. Jason fits right in, though he takes more of a back seat. However, he readily complies when dared to kiss Persephone. She's my girlfriend, but I don't object. She doesn't seem to be too upset about it. In fact, she kind of seems to enjoy it. Finally, after watching Dionysus jump in the freezing lake completely naked, we head back to the entrance to the park. Artemis and I walk back together, and she holds my hand. We don't notice Persephone behind us.

"Hermes," She says. I release Artemis's hand and turn around to face her. Artemis pauses for a moment, then keeps walking.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"I don't think this is working," She sighs. "You and me. We're not working. Artemis told me that you kissed her. Frankly, I don't think we ever really had anything special. But I want you to know that I was in a really bad place. I was depressed and terrified of everyone. But you helped me a lot. Thank you." She walks up, gives me one last kiss, then runs after the others.

I'm not upset about breaking up with her. As I stated before, I never really loved her. But I'm upset that I lost her. I feel so utterly alone. When we were together, I knew that I could tell her about the abuse and she'd understand why I didn't want to tell, and what it felt like, because she'd been through a very similar experience. Now talking to her would just be awkward. I no longer have this option, this little place of possible safety. I am alone. I'm all by myself, facing the one monster I can't bring myself to kill, or even fight. My own mother.

And I'm terrified.


	10. Chapter 10: The Minotaur of Destiny

**Here is chapter 10! I got two great reviews, and I loved them! Please r&r (I think that means Read and Review, I hope so!). I'll give a preview of the next chapter to anyone who reviews. This chapter is a bit short, but I'll get the next one up ASAP. I couldn't find a good stopping point, so I just ended it fast.**

**chipettejones10: Glad you liked it! I can't give away too much, but everything comes out eventually.** **I want to thank you for all the great reviews I've gotten from you. They're soooo nice to see and I love reading them!**

**Lyria: Thank you for the wonderful review! I don't care what length the review is, I just love getting them! It's so great to hear things like that. This is actually the only story I've written, I'm new here :). But hopefully I'll get some other things up, I'm currently working on a sequel to this!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. Sorry about the heart attack that just gave you.**

* * *

**_Hermes_**

"Where were you last night?"

Good question. Come on, you're the god of lies. _Think._

"Remember that Leukrokottas? It got out. And it started attacking our cabin. So we were going to fight it, but we're not allowed to have weapons in the cabins. So we went over to the girls' cabin, and asked if we could stay with them. And of course they didn't want that, so they helped us look for another place to stay for the night. And then...somehow we all ended up at the park," I explain. The others nod behind me.

"That's exactly what happened," Ares says.

"Totally," Persephone confirms.

"Yup," Achilles puts in. Odysseus cocks an eyebrow. He's almost fully convinced. I've got him in my sights, but he's not mine yet.

"And, you're the best camp director ever!" I add. There. My work here is done. He smiles.

"Alright. I see now, you weren't sneaking out. You were merely defending yourselves against a merciless monster. Go on to monster fighting, we've got a fun activity planned," He tells us. We high-five and bolt from his office.

We walk into the arena, which is disturbingly empty. Our footsteps echo off the walls. Weapons are scattered about the arena, as if campers had been here recently and fled.

"This is creepy," Dionysus mutters. Hephaestus puts a comforting arm around his shoulder. Suddenly, we hear low, quiet grunting.

"Did you guys just hear that?" Coral demands. We nod. Ares grabs a sword off the ground. The others follow suit, picking up their respective weapons. I find three knives scattered on the ground, and tuck them into my belt loops. We hear footsteps. I glance around, but none of us are moving.

"Guys, something's in here," I warn nervously.

"No way, Sherlock!" Artemis gasps in mock shock. Ares, always trying to show off, steps forward and around a corner. We hear a loud bang, then running footsteps. Ares bursts forward.

"MINOTAUR!" He screams.

We scatter. Artemis scales a tree, as always. She's right that getting of the ground is our best bet. Minotaurs are heavy, clumsy monsters. They can't climb, fly, or jump very high. But they're strong and merciless. Arrows aren't going to help, and neither are knives. We need axes, maces, hammers, and swords.

I would just like to point out the high level of intelligence that was displayed in the above paragraph. This is a high point for me. Can we just, like, realize this? I'm proud of me.

I fly onto a nearby wall, balancing dangerously on the narrow top. It wobbles for a moment, and I'm sure we're going down. Luckily, I manage to steady it. I glance around and see Athena join Artemis in her favorite tree, then whisper something to her. Athena counts to three on her fingers, and the two of them shout, "HEY, GUYS! GET IN THE TREE!" Normally, shouting and giving away your whereabouts would be a bad idea. But they're safer in the tree than any of us. The minotaur sees them and paws the ground angrily, but it can do nothing. We slowly emerge from our hiding spots, but have no safe way of reaching them. Well, except me. I can fly. Reason number 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 why I am the awesomest person ever. However, there's no "I" in "team" (I just recently learned), and me getting into the tree really won't help us. Cause I kinda suck. No offense to me, but it's the truth.

"Hide!" I hiss, "I'll come get you!" They nod and return to their hiding spots. The minotaur turns towards me. "Shit." I bolt for the nearest person, Hestia, grab her by the back of her shirt, and fly her to the tree. The slow minotaur is looking around confusedly, wondering what just happened. From my position on a protruding branch, I spot Dionysus and Hephaestus crouched behind a boulder. I rush forward and grab Dionysus by the arm. As I assumed he would, he grabs Hephaestus and drags him with us. I deposit them with Hestia, Artemis, and Athena, then return for the others. One by one, I drag them successfully into the tree.

"Alright," Athena says once we're all gathered, "we need a strategy."

"Strategy? Run and scream for your lives," Achilles suggests.

"That would be my plan," Jason agrees.

"We're not trained to fight a minotaur!" Aphrodite points out.

"We'll be fine," Athena assures them, "I've already got it all worked out."

"Enlighten us," I groan, "I totally want to spend the last few minutes of my life listening to you tell me what to do." She glares at me.

"Hear me out," She says. No one replies, which she takes as her cue to continue. "Here's the plan: Hermes flies over the minotaur with Hephaestus, who hits it in the head with his hammer. Apollo, Ares, and Dionysus need to be ready with shields in case it isn't stunned enough. If all goes well, Artemis and I come at it from the side and stab it with swords. This should disable it enough for Aphrodite to throw her disc and slay it. Everyone else needs to be ready with heavy weapons- those would be axes and maces- in case the disc doesn't kill it. Got it?" We nod, since no one has a better plan. As the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena is in her element. "Alright," She says, "places!" Hephaestus and I move to a lower branch and wait for Apollo, Ares, and Dionysus to surround the minotaur. Artemis and Athena conceal themselves behind walls and boulders on either side of the minotaur. Aphrodite perches on the wall of the arena, level with the minotaur's head. The rest hide around the arena, ready with axes and maces.

Athena gives me a thumbs up, and the fight begins.

I grab Hephaestus by the back of his shirt, and sail straight for the minotaur. It throws it's head back in a deadly roar, which is cut short by the bang of Hephaestus's hammer hitting it's head. It's roar turns to a howl of pain as it stumbles around, stunned. However, it regains it's bearings quicker than we imagined and moves in on it's closest kill: Apollo. He runs straight at it, shield covering his head. The minotaur lowers it's head so it's horns are pointed straight at Apollo. They make contact with a sickening crash, and it's horns pierces straight through Apollo's shield, leaving a large gash in his cheek. However, it's now stuck in his shield. The minotaur struggles, and Apollo struggles back, trying to keep it in one place so Athena and Artemis can stab it. Ares drops his shield with a clatter, and this distracts the minotaur long enough for Ares to take over for Apollo. This makes a lot of sense, as Ares is stronger. He holds it long enough for Athena and Artemis to burst forward and drive their swords into it's sides. It jerks it's head back in a roar of agony, sending Ares flying backward. Aphrodite let's her disk fly. It sails through the air, closer, closer, closer...and misses.

All hell breaks loose.

Hercules emerges first, swinging his mace and whacking the minotaur in the face. It stumbles backward. Perseus then rushes forth, darting behind it's back and hacking off it's tail with his axe. This is a strategy I've never seen before. Mutilating your opponent until they cannot defend themselves. Wait, I have. This is the strategy my mother uses on me. Nimbly, Hestia scampers along the tops of walls and swings at it's side, leaving a large gash. Persephone throws her dagger. It buries itself in the minotaur's skull, not killing it, but seriously disabling it. Next comes Achilles, wildly swinging his mace. He repeatedly smashes the spiked ball into the minotaur's back. Coral hacks off an ear. By now it's on its knees. Jason hops over the boulder he was behind, sprints up to the minotaur's side, and slices off it's head with his axe.

Slowly, everyone emerges from their hiding spots and walks to the monster's dead body.

"I can't believe we killed that," Ares gasps, rubbing the back of his head, which is bruised from hitting the wall after the minotaur wrenched itself free from Apollo's shield.

"I don't understand," Apollo mutters, "why would Odysseus send us here? He must've known the minotaur was here, the older campers were fighting it two days ago."

"Because he knew I was lying and sent us here as punishment," I suggest.

"That seems like a pretty severe punishment," Aphrodite pouts, retrieving her slightly dented disc from the ground. Artemis shrugs.

"He knew we could take it," She replies. Suddenly, we hear clapping behind us. We whirl around.

"Well done," Odysseus commends us, "and I mean on the minotaur, not that horrible excuse for sneaking to the park last night. I'll admit, you almost tricked me. But I've been fooled too many times by Hermes to believe anything that comes out of his mouth these days. Really, though, that was a marvelous performance. A wonderful display of teamwork and bravery. I think you're ready to move up a level." We glance around at each other, disbelief written all over our faces. At camp, you're ranked on levels of one through fifteen, based on what type of monsters you can fight. We're currently level nine, which is pretty good for fourteen year-olds. Minotaurs are level eleven monsters, but our performance wasn't exactly flawless, which would put us at level ten.

Odysseus takes our Camp Identification Cards and crosses off level nine. CICs are such a joke, the only reason we have them is to show off when you reach level fifteen. Technically you need it to identify your level when being grouped into teams for games, but no one actually looks at them. I was on a team with Echo last year when I was level eight and she was level seven.

You do realize that was the most pointless paragraph ever, right?


	11. Chapter 11: Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

**Here's chapter eleven! I got one review :(. Please tell me what you think when you finish reading, I'll send you a sneak peak of the next chapter! Reviews make my day!**

**chipettejones10: Yeah, that chapter was a bit random, but it was fun to write :). I'm afraid this one is a bit random, too, but it was fun to. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. **

* * *

_**Hermes**_

I glance around, taken aback by the sheer size of those around me. Not only are they all a year older than me, but I'm pretty small for a fourteen-year-old. Besides the size, they're all glaring at us. I don't know why. If I was fifteen and my biggest threat was a group of fourteen year olds who probably shouldn't be here, I'd be thrilled. But I suppose going up against someone who's younger than you but just as good makes you look bad.

I probably should mention that in order to fully reach a new level, you have to pass the test. So here we are, facing Theseus and the fifteen year olds. Theseus was born to kill minotaurs, so this should be a breeze for him. There are other monsters in there, but minotaurs are worth the most points. The goal of the test is to kill the most monsters with your team. If each team surpasses a certain number of points, everyone passes. The winning team automatically passes, no matter how many points you have. The tricky part about it is not only do you have to kill the monsters, you have to keep your enemies from killing them first. And you're in the arena until all the monsters are dead. That can take days. The other tricky part is you have to listen to your team captain. Odysseus identifies the team captains and their teams. Being team captain is a huge honor, and it's always been Athena for every test that we've taken. After a while, you get tired of listening to her.

"Welcome," Odysseus announces, "to the level ten test! There are six monsters in there. The minotaur is worth the most points, closely followed by the harpy, then the empousa, then the three-headed dog, then the sphinx, then the leukrokottas. Kill enough and you will pass. Kill them all and you will go down in training camp history." Not one team has ever been able to kill all the monsters, the opposing group has always gotten at least one. One team, which had my father and Uncle Poseidon on it, killed all but one. They lost the chimera to Hades, who, using his invisibility powers, grabbed Dad's axe right before he beheaded it. Uncle Hades still boasts about it. "Now, before you select your weapons and head in, I will announce team captains," Odysseus tells us. "Team one: Willow, Bellerophon, Arachne, Theseus, Castor, Pollux, Iolaus, Ariadne, Morpheus, Achilles, Hercules, and Coral. Your team captain is Theseus." Coral looks puzzled, but she leaves our group and joins her teammates. Within seconds, Castor is flirting with her and everyone know why she's on that team. He requested her. "Team two: Artemis, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Perseus, Jason, Hestia, Persephone, Dionysus, Hephaestus, and Hermes. Your team captain is Apollo." Both Athena and Apollo look surprised, but the rest of us just look relieved. This means we won't have to take orders from Athena!

Anyway, we select our weapons and find a starting point. The horn blasts, and we're off. Apollo leads us to a clearly marked trail, despite Artemis's protests that taking a trail will lead us right to an obstacle. She's right, but it's not the obstacle we expected. About halfway down the trail, we find a tortoise, slowly ambling down the path and blocking the whole thing. Everyone stops dead in their tracks and is silent for a moment.

"Why don't we just walk around it, or kill it?" I suggest.

"We can't, idiot, it's a sacred animal. You have to respect it," Athena explains.

"Well, whoever's scared animal this is should get it to move," I reply.

"It's yours, Wing-Head," Artemis sighs.

"It is?" I ask incredulously, "But it's so slow!" Athena rolls her eyes.

"Just go get it out of the way," She says impatiently. I shrug my shoulders and approach the tortoise, crouching beside it. I nearly jump out of my skin when it talks to me.

"What do you want?!" It snaps.

"Um, I was just wondering, uh, would you mind getting out of the way?" I request. It stares me down for a moment, then shakes it's head.

"No," It replies. I turn to Athena and shrug.

"It said 'no'," I tell her. "What do I do?"

"It's your sacred animal, not the other way around. Speak with some authority!" She instructs. I nod and turn back to the tortoise.

"Um, listen here, tortoise! I'm your master, and what I say goes! Get out of the way or else!" I command. It's eyes widen, and it starts sidestepping nervously off the path.

"Oh, sorry master! Didn't recognize you!" And with that, it scurries away. I stand up and turn to face the others.

"Of all the things I imagined doing today, talking to a tortoise was not one of them," I admit. Suddenly, we hear a voice we don't recognize. It's got this quality to it that makes me want to follow it.

"Come to me," It hisses, "I've got cake." Cake? I'm sold. I glance around at the others, who have similar dreamy expressions on their faces as they listen to the voice. "Follow my voice, I've got tons of cake for you. Drop your weapons, I don't like sharp things." I fumble to unbuckle my belt holding my knives. The buckle is harder than I imagined, and as I struggle with it, I accidentally cut my hand on a knife. The drops of blood and sharp pain snap me out of my daze.

"LEUKROKOTTAS!" I scream, "COVER YOUR EARS AND RUN!" Everyone else is brought back by my frantic voice, recognition dawning on their faces. We scramble down the path, as fast as our legs can take us. I try to slow down and stay near the others. Being alone with a Leukrokottas can be fatal, you want a large group of people so that you can make noise to block out it's voice. The path begins to widen and before we know it we're at the top of a steep hill. We keep running, eventually losing control of our momentum and rolling down over rocks and sticks. A sharp pain in my head and a flood of red warmth down my neck tells me I've hit something or someone. A heavy weight atop me confirms the latter. Ares has kicked me in the head. I keep rolling until I've reached the ground. Then I stumble to my feet and glance around dizzily at the others. They look just as disoriented as I. It's clear we won't be able to fight anything in our current state, but the world stops spinning after one or two minutes and Apollo calls us to attention.

"It should be pretty close behind us," He warns. "We need to tie it's mouth shut. Does anybody have a rope?"

"Why would we have a rope if we could just make one?" Persephone asks, sitting down and fashioning a rope out of flowers.

"I don't know, why do mortals breathe if they're eventually going to die?" He shoots back.

"Who knows why mortals do what they do? Here's your rope," She replies, pushing it into his hand.

"Why do we need a rope?" I ask.

"To tie it's mouth shut, which you're going to do," Apollo explains.

"What?!" I cry, "Why me?"

"Because you're the fastest, Fairy Feet," Athena explains.

"Could everyone please stop calling me that?!" I exclaim.

"Fine, Herpes," Ares replies. I glare at him. He throws his hands up in mock terror.

"If I'm going to put my hands in that thing's mouth, then I think you can recognize the difference between my name and an STD," I hiss. Didn't think that one through, Ares is too stupid to know what an STD is. Suddenly, the Leukrokottas rounds the corner. Apollo pushes the rope into my hand and runs behind a bush with the others. I whirl around and find myself alone. They've all hidden.

"Cake," The monster reminds me. _No, _I think to myself_, cake is not worth this. You can have cake another time. Besides, it doesn't actually have cake._ "I can give you an entire house made of cake!" It tells me. Really? That sounds nice...

I feel myself starting to slip deeper into it's grasp. I can think of only one thing to do. I grab one of my knives and make a deep cut up my forearm. The sharp pain snaps me out of it, and before it can speak again I rush forward and wrestle it's jaws shut. It starts swinging its head wildly, trying to rid itself of me. I fumble with the rope with one hand while holding it's jaws shut with the other. It gives a good shove, and I almost lose my grip. Luckily, I manage to drive a knife into its neck, and I use this as a handle. It tries to roar in pain but the rope is almost tied and it can hardly open it's mouth. Giving the rope one last good tug, I clamp it's jaws together . I step back to admire my work, and it charges at me. It raises a razor-sharp hoof to my face, but before it can slice through my cheek I've been shoved to the ground. I push myself up on my elbows to see Artemis brandishing Athena's sword high. The Leukrokottas dodges her blow and slaps her with it's sharp hooves. Ares has now emerged, with an axe and shield. Artemis is on the ground, cradling her face. She can take a hit, but Leukrokottas are known for their sharp cloven hooves.

Ares has dropped his sword and is taking it on in a battle of sheer strength, attempting to push it to the ground with his shield. He's winning, but I'm not sure how much longer he can hold it. It's already starting to rise. Hephaestus, the strongest of all of us, pushes through a bush and takes the shield from Ares, who joins us on the ground, exhausted. It seems clear that Hephaestus will win, when suddenly the Leukrokottas gives another shove and is standing over Hephaestus. Artemis and I scramble to our feet, but her sword lies a few feet from us, and we don't want to attract attention. If I throw a knife, I risk hitting Hephaestus. Attempting to wrestle it off would be fruitless. As was said in our textbook: _"In Ethiopia there is an animal called Leukrokottas, vulgarly Leukynolykos, of amazing strength. It is said to imitate the human voice, to call men by name at night, and to devour those who approach it. It is as brave as a lion, as swift as a horse, and as strong as a bull. It cannot be overcome by any weapon of steel." "Strong as a bull. Of amazing strength."_

Yup, we're screwed.

It rears up on two legs, preparing to crush it's victim beneath it.

"Hephaestus!" Dionysus cries. He emerges from his hiding spot with the hammer Hephaestus must have forgotten. Then he bolts behind it and brings the heavy weapon down upon the Leukrokottas's tail. It howls in pain (well, as best as it can with it's mouth bound shut), forgetting Hephaestus. He scrambles out from beneath it and runs to Dionysus's side. Dionysus smiles and pauses in his smashing of it's tail, long enough for Hephaestus to lunge on it and wrap his arms around its throat. It gives a few choked gasps, then collapses. Dead. Everyone else emerges from their hiding spot. Suddenly, we hear a horrible shriek.

"Sounds like they got the harpy," Ares says, "that's worth way more points than the Leukrokottas. We need to find the minotaur."

"Find the minotaur before Theseus?" Athena echoes, "Impossible. We should go for the empousa. Combined with the points from the Leukrokottas, we'd be in the lead." We all turn to Apollo, who seems to have forgotten he's team captain.

"Oh, um, right. Empousa. We'll get the empousa. I think we should avoid the minotaur and let them get it. If we get the sphinx and the three-headed-dog, we'll win," He decides. The empousa turns out to be a pretty easy kill. We hide in the bushes and Aphrodite kills it with her disc. It didn't even see us. Cause we're sneaky-ass ninjas. The down side is by then they've already killed the minotaur. We find it's dead body in a clearing. They're in the lead, but we're hot on the sphinx's trail. We're following it's footsteps to it's hiding spot, but it's starting to rain and they're disappearing fast.

"What are we gonna do once the footsteps are gone?" I ask.

"As if it isn't obvious," Athena scoffs. "Sphinxes are desert creatures. They don't like rain. Our best bet for finding it-or, her, sphinxes are female- would be The Skull Caves." The Skull Caves are a group of caves on the far edge of camp grouped roughly in the shape of a skull. They're great for Gold Rush, because you can hide your rocks and defend them easily.

Apollo leads us towards the caves, pausing every now and then to listen for the other team or a monster. But the other team is probably on the other side of the arena, leaving the sphinx to us and going for the three-headed dog. We reach the caves without any obstacles, and enter the lowest one. The sphinx sits, her lion paws stretched out in front of her and her human head held high, directly in the center of the cave. She gets to her feet when she sees us.

"Oh good, you're here. You have no idea how bored I was waiting. You took ever so long. Now, which of you will be losing our battle of wits?" She asks, sharpening her claws on the cave wall and stretching her wings out threateningly. Athena steps forward.

"I will," She says proudly, "only I won't be losing." The sphinx chuckles and seats herself on the floor. Athena strides across the cave until she is standing directly in front of the sphinx.

"I would ask you my old riddle, but ever since that fool Oedipus released the answer to the world, it hardly seems necessary. Now, let's see, what could I ask you...? Ah, yes. There are two sisters. One gives birth to the other, and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. Who are the sisters?" The sphinx asks. I'm thoroughly confused. How could sisters give birth to each other? Then they wouldn't be sisters. But Athena seems to know the answer.

"The sisters are night and day," She answers, "At the end of the day, day gives birth to night. At the end of the night, night gives birth to day. The two words 'night' and 'day' are feminine in the Greek language." The sphinx gives her a malicious, devious smile.

"Very well. But you must answer three riddles correctly in order to win rights to my head. If you fail, I get yours," The sphinx explains.

"What?!" Athena cries, "Since when were those the rules?! I answered your riddle right, now I get to kill you!" The sphinx throws her head back laughing.

"My poor, stupid child. I value my life. I won't surrender it that easily! That was an easy one! And you think now you get to kill me, do you? Ha! Stupid, stupid, stupid," She taunts. Athena looks enraged.

"I, Athena, am the great goddess of wisdom! No one calls me stupid!" She cries, leaping to her feet and drawing her sword.

"My dear," The sphinx begins, "you can't hurt me just yet. You'll find if you don't play by the rules, there will be consequences." The sphinx spreads her powerful wings, preparing to beat Athena to the ground. Apollo draws his bow, but Ares pushes it down.

"She got herself into this mess," He points out, "we all know she could've answered those last two riddles. This is her fight, and she'll have to fight it."

"And you'll find," Athena replies icily, raising her sword and slicing off a wing neatly, "that you don't want to make me angry!" The sphinx flaps lopsidedly into the air, but crashes almost immediately due to her missing wing.

"Someone could use a flying lesson," I mutter.

"Shame you can't fly," Athena says sarcastically, "let me help you out there." And she chops off the other wing.

"Oh, aren't you tough? Chopping off wings. Why not go for the head? I thought you wanted to kill me," The sphinx mocks. Fatal mistake. Athena raises her sword, and off comes the sphinx's head. She turns around to face us, panting slightly with a triumphant look on her face.

"Well," She says, "that was fun. Let's go kill a three-headed dog!" I raise my eyebrows and mirror the dumbfounded expressions of those surrounding me. Athena sighs. "Come on, let's go. Don't just stand there and look at me!" No one moves. She gives another impatient sigh and pushes past us, strutting out of the cave.

"Oh, uh, follow her," Apollo instructs. Artemis shakes her head at her brother's lack of leadership skills, and we trail Athena through the woods. It is decided that the three-headed dog is likely in the center of the arena, meant to draw both teams together so we'll have to fight for it. They're currently beating us, so the dog means win or lose for us.

We reach it at the same time that they do. They're looking a lot more battered, but they did take a harpy and a minotaur, whereas all we had to fight was a leukrokottas, an empousa, and a sphinx. They all look dirty. Morpheus looks exhausted, although he always does. Coral has a cut up her cheek. Castor is limping. But then again, we're not in the best condition. The back of my head is caked with blood from my encounter with Ares on the hill. Artemis's face is swollen and bruised.

We stand staring at each other for a moment. Then Theseus lets out a battle cry and we run forward. I draw my longest knife, which doubles as my sword for the moment. Coral meets me with her spear, blocking every stab I make with the long stick. Beside me, Artemis has Bellerophon on the ground. Wow, she beat a fifteen-year-old and I can't even take Coral. Speaking of Coral, she's about to FUCKING STAB ME. I duck neatly out of the way, and she accidentally stabs Theseus. I see that Pollux has reached the dog and cut off a head. Two are left, and we have to get them. Pollux has been knocked to the ground, and the second head is claimed by Ares. The remaining head is the tie-breaker. I'm locked in deadly combat with Coral when Dionysus suggests the painfully obvious.

"You can fly. Why don't you just go kill it?"

Oh, shit. We are so dumb it's not even comprehensible. Is there a failure baby? That would work so well right now. I can't even...like, how did we miss that? Wow. Just, wow. That is all I have to say.

After Dionysus points this out, I take to the air, descend upon the dog, and claim the final head. Yay. Odysseus blows the horn, calling us from the arena, and we traipse out. He meets us at the exit.

"Well done!" He commends us, "You have all reached level ten! But, as in all contests, there must be a winner and a loser. So, with 492 points, the winner is...team two!" We cheer, and the fifteen-year-olds glare at us. Then Theseus pounds his fist into his palm, and the other boys assemble behind him. His expression is easy to read. It clearly says, You better run, cause I'm gonna eat you. Clearly.

We bolt.

* * *

"Ow," I whine, "I hate you." Ares shrugs.

"Most people do," He replies. I kick him in the shins. Victory is mine...not. I still have a throbbing wound on the back of my head. The difference is, he now has one on his shin.

"Shouldn't have done that, Herpes," He warns me.

"Well, you shouldn't have kicked me in the head," I shoot back.

"You shouldn't have gotten in my way," He counters.

"I wasn't in your way!" I cry indignantly, "We were rolling down a hill! I couldn't even see you! I didn't know you were there, until you kicked me in the head!"

"All's fair in love and war. Well, just war," He reasons.

"That doesn't make any sense, nor is it relevant to anything we were discussing. This conversation is over," I tell him, throwing myself down on my bunk.

"Oh, someone's getting sassy!" He mocks. I ignore him, promising myself that I'll put something gross on his pillow later tonight. As soon as I can think without receiving a throbbing pain in my head. Not that I could really think very well before Ares kicked me in the head, but still. You get the point.

"99 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 99 BOTTLES OF BEER, TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 98 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!" Apollo sings, bouncing about the cabin. He's still in a good mood from our level ten test, since we won with him in charge. "98 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 98 BOTTLES OF BEER, TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 97 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL! 97 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 97 BOTTLES OF BEER..." I groan inwardly and cover my ears. Apollo is the kind of person who probably would get all the way down to, "No more bottles of beer on the wall, no more bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, negative one bottles of beer on the wall!" and so on if you let him, and no one seems to care enough to say anything. "93 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 93 BOTTLES OF BEER-"

"For Zeus's sake, would you shut up?" I snap. He ignores me.

"92 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 92 BOTTLES OF BEER..." I'm getting tired of this.

"KICK THE WALL, DOWN THEY FALL, NO MORE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!" I scream. Apollo frowns at me, and I make a face at him.

"Finally," Dionysus sighs, "silence. Now I can continue my game of Go Fish."

"Go Fish?" Achilles scoffs, "isn't that, like, a baby game?!" Dionysus gasps with mock horror.

"Go Fish is a very stressful and intense game!" He defends.

"Got any threes?" Hephaestus asks boredly.

"Nope," Dionysus replies, "go fish!" Hephaestus sighs and plucks a card from the pile. Wow. Looks like buckets of fun. Suddenly, we hear a cry from the bathroom, and Perseus emerges with a towel around his waist.

"OK," He snaps, "who put syrup in my shampoo bottle?" There's an audible whoosh as everyone points to me and I point at Achilles. Perseus glares at me.

"What?" I ask, "It wasn't me!"

"Sure, it wasn't you," He says sarcastically. It totally was me, but I'm not telling him that.

"What're you gonna do to me?" I challenge.

"Skin you alive," He threatens.

"OK, sure," I reply, turning back to staring at the top of my bunk.

"I'll skin you alive after I put on some clothes," He decides, "and wash the syrup from my hair." I can't help but laugh a snicker at this, but I cover my laughter with the heel of my hand. Perseus looks at me pointedly.

"So it was you."

"I never said that." He just looks at me again, with that look so I know he knows I'm lying but he's not going to do anything about it. Of course, he'll say he will, but that's just a boy defending his pride.

"GO FISH! HA! I WIN!" Dionysus screams.

"Yay," Hephaestus groans, "now I can finally go to bed." He climbs onto his bunk, and Ares flicks off the lights. I close my eyes, and finally there's silence, which is rare in a cabin of fourteen-year-old gods and heroes.

"99 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, 99 BOTTLES OF BEER! TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND, 98 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL! 98 BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL..."

And he had to start back at the beginning, didn't he?

_**Hephaestus**_

I'm not gay. I'm not, I swear. Just clarifying. I'm not. I like girls! I like Coral, right? I flirt with her at riding practice! Dionysus is not my boyfriend. We're just really close. And I didn't play Go Fish with him because I'd do anything for him, it was because he saved me from the Leukrokottas so I sort of owed him one. The point is, I'm not gay.

I'm not.


	12. Chapter 12: Back To School

**Here's chapter 12! Sorry it took so long to post. This story is actually finished, I just haven't posted it all, and I was hard at work on the sequel (sneak peak to come)! I got 4 reviews (which I think is my record), and I'd love to get more! Please tell me what you think!**

**chipettejones10: Thank you! I always look forward to your reviews. **

**Lyria: Thank you so much for another wonderful comment! I actually update so quickly so that I can get reviews :)! I'm so glad you liked the humor. As I've mentioned before, that's something I work very hard on. That was so nice of you to say, thank you soooo much!**

**Aya: Thank you! The story switches POV a bit more as it goes on. In the beginning it's just Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes who tell the story but as we go further Ares talks a bit more, and Persephone has a section. In the sequel, Hestia narrates some parts and an original character does, too. Can't give away too much, though! Thank you for the nice review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. I bet you didn't see that coming.**

* * *

_**Artemis**_

There's a feeling of sadness in the air as we throw our bags into the bottom of the bus. It's unusually silent for training camp, which is usually filled with battle cries, monsters roaring, swords clashing, people shouting, and, as always, the sickeningly satisfying noise of a monster's head popping off of its shoulders. Today, you can still hear the campers training, but most are up at the entrance to camp, leaving or bidding their friends farewell. Achilles and Jason are staying, but they'll be joining the fifteen-year-olds in their cabin since there aren't enough fourteen-year-old boys anymore. Most of the fifteen-year-olds are leaving, too. Only Castor, Pollux, and Iolaus are staying. It seems unfair that we come only for the break, establish friendships, treat this place like home, and then leave after only a week.

I toss my bag into the bus, then turn to face camp for the last time until spring. It looks just as it did on the day we arrived, save for the stunning lack of campers anywhere but the entrance. It's surprising how empty the camp is no monster in the arena, no one sword-fighting on the platform, no campers stealing food at the pavillion, no one swimming in the lake, and no one sneaking off campus. Everyone is here, saying goodbye.

"See you in March, sweetcheeks," Achilles says, placing a hand on my shoulder and jerking his head towards the bus door. Everyone else is already boarding. Jason gives me a shy smile. Jason doesn't talk much. I don't think he's said one thing to me since I met him.

"ALL ABOARD!" Odysseus shouts. I smile back at Jason, and his face lights up at the fact that someone has noticed him. Achilles gives me a quick, goodbye hug, and I run up onto the bus just as the doors are closing. I sit down next to Athena, and she gives me a sad smile, which I mirror. The bus starts moving, and I stare out the window until training camp disappears.

* * *

The bell rings, and I leave the math classroom to find everyone huddled around the bulletin board. I walk over and attempt to see what they're all staring at, but the pack of people is too large.

"What's going on?" I ask Athena.

"Sign-up sheet for the camping trip got posted," She explains, "Are you going?"

"Yeah, you?" I reply. She shrugs.

"I've got nothing better to do," She reasons. We wait for ten or so minutes for the crowd to thin so we can sign up, and I scan the list to see who's going. Everything seems normal. Apollo is going, Ares is going, Perseus is going (ew), Aphrodite is going, Persephone's going, pretty much everyone is going. But it seems like less people than last year. There are ten gods and goddesses in the eighth grade, and only nine are signed up. I read through the list again. Hermes isn't going.

"Why isn't Hermes going?" I ask. Athena shrugs.

"I don't know. He probably couldn't read it well enough to know what he was signing up for," She suggests. It's sad because it's entirely possible and fairly likely. I roll my eyes and scribble my name under "8th Grade-Goddess". We're separated into five sections per grade. Gods, Goddesses, Nymphs, Heroes, and Heroines. There aren't a lot of heroines, but if you're a myth character that isn't a nymph, then you would go there. Example: Arachne. She didn't really do anything heroic, but she isn't a nymph or a goddess, so there isn't really anywhere else for her.

"Excuse me, could you please move?" A sickeningly sweet voice asks, "Any by 'move', I mean off the face of the Earth." Athena grits her teeth and turns on her heel.

"Enyo," She greets. Enyo smiles devilishly and slips past Athena, signing her name under "7th Grade-Goddess". Enyo and Athena are born enemies. As the goddess of destructive war, Enyo disagrees with everything Athena stands for. Athena, goddess of peace, believes in resolving issues through diplomacy. Enyo just wants to blow up everything.

"So, you're going on the camping trip? Well, I guess the bears need a meal," Enyo reasons. Athena clenches her fists.

"Well, you...you...you're stupid!" She shoots back. Enyo rolls her eyes and saunters away. Athena has never been good at insulting people. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Zelus, Charites, Euphrosyne, and Thalia walking towards us. The sixth grade gods and goddesses of charm (Charites), happiness (Euphrosyne), festivity (Thalia), and zeal (Zelus), they're pretty much the perkiest people on campus and really annoying. Like, really annoying.

"Sixth grade perky parade," I mutter to Athena, "run run run!" We bolt to the cafeteria. Everyone else is already assembled at our usual lunch table. Athena slides into place beside my brother, and I take my seat beside Hestia.

"So, if you dug a hole to China, would you get stuck in the middle because of gravity?" Ares asks. I roll my eyes.

"What? No! You can't dig a hole to China! What about the molten lava core at the center of the Earth?" My brother points out.

"Well, let's say you could," Ares replies.

"I don't know. Dig a hole and I'll push you in to find out," Dionysus suggests.

"You would do that for me?" Ares says with mock happiness, "Really? Thanks."

"Any of us would do it," Hermes cuts in, "gladly. And we'd hope you'd get stuck." I notice he's wearing his hat pulled over one of his eyes, which is weird because normally he hates when it falls like that. But now he seems to be pulling it down further.

"Who's excited for the camping trip?" Coral asks. There's a chorus of cheers.

"I'm not going," Hermes mutters.

"Why not?" I ask. He shrugs.

"My mom doesn't want me to," He mumbles.

"What's your mom's deal? She used to be really nice," Dionysus says. Hermes shrugs again.

"I don't know. She's drunk a lot," He explains.

"Well, then she should probably go to rehab," Apollo points out.

"She's not drunk all the time," Hermes says, "just most of the time."

"That would be why she should go to rehab," Apollo replies. Hermes doesn't reply, just begins to pick apart the piece of bread in front of him. He often does this with his food instead of eating it; somehow he finds it more entertaining to pick it apart and then squish it back together in some weird shape.

"If you were driving in reverse down a street, but you were going the same way as traffic, would it still be legal?" I swear, Ares asks the dumbest questions.

"Why would you ever want to know that?" I answer. He shrugs.

"I was just wondering," He says.

"I don't know, cars haven't really been invented yet," Athena points out. Suddenly, a dagger flies over my head, barely missing me.

"What the...?" I mutter. I turn in my seat to see Theseus laughing and high-fiving Bellerophon. Ariadne, Theseus's girlfriend, laughs and points at the person on the receiving end of the dagger. Hestia frowns.

"That's not very nice," She says. We look where she's pointing and see Harpocrates, god of silence, sitting alone and reading a book.

Well, he was reading a book. Now there's a dagger going through it. He sets the book down and sighs, then yanks the dagger out and lays it beside him on the table and continues reading. Hestia gets to her feet.

"Hey!" She yells at Theseus, "Pick on someone your own size!" Hermes stands up too.

"What business do you have in this?" Theseus asks him.

"Oh, I don't. I just wanted to throw away my trash," Hermes explains. Theseus nods and turns back to Hestia.

"Why do you care?" He demands.

"Because that was mean and I won't stand for it!" She replies. Theseus rolls his eyes.

"Stick to your own business," He advises her.

"I most certainly will not!" She shoots back. Hermes picks his way towards the trash can, trying not to be noticed. Unfortunately, this doesn't work so well. Theseus sticks his foot out and trips him. Hermes goes flying, his tray landing a few feet away from him along with his hat, which Theseus grabs and begins crumpling the wings. Hermes gets to his feet, and that's when I see why he was wearing his hat down so far. He's got a black eye, along with a bruise running up his cheek.

"Give that back," Hermes says.

"Make me," Theseus replies. And suddenly the wings start flapping wildly and slapping Theseus in the face until he releases it. Then the hat flies back over to Hermes and goes still in his hands. The ghost of his old devilish smirk appears as a corner of his mouth twitches upward in a self-satisfied way. The room is silent, all eyes are on Theseus. Then suddenly he lunges at Hermes, pinning him to the ground and punching him repeatedly in the face.

"Leave him alone!" Hestia screams, "Stop! Stop it!" Apollo runs for the door, probably to find a teacher. I stand motionless, unsure of what to do. Impulsively, I shove through the crowd until I'm standing above the two of them. Apollo returns with Professor Demeter just as I draw my bow and point it at Theseus.

"What is going on here?!" She cries. I lower my bow, and Theseus leaps off of Hermes. No one speaks. Finally, Hestia steps forward.

"It's all his fault, Professor," She says, pointing at Theseus. "He threw a dagger at Harpocrates, so I stood up to tell him not to, and he started yelling at me. Then Hermes went to throw away his trash, and Theseus tripped him and took his hat, but Hermes got it back so Theseus attacked him."

"That is not what happened!" Theseus defends himself. "I was minding my own business when Hermes tripped. So I picked up his hat with every intention of giving it back. But then he started yelling at me and beating me up! So, naturally, I defended myself. And since I'm bigger, I ended up on top." Demeter turns to Hermes.

"Hermes," She says, "is that true?" Hermes looks at Theseus, who fixes him with a death glare.

"Yeah," Hermes mutters, eyes falling to the ground, "that's true." My mouth drops open, as do many others in the crowd. Hestia starts to say something, but Hermes gives her a look that shuts her up.

"Follow me," Demeter orders sharply. Hermes falls into step behind her. Theseus stays where he is, smirking triumphantly. "I mean you, too!" She says, glaring at Theseus. Theseus groans and follows them out the door. The rest of us stand, motionless and silent, staring at the floor where the two of them fought as if something was going to happen.

"Well," Ares finally breaks the silence, "that was fun. If someone owns a piece of land, do they own it all the way to the center of the earth?" I quirk an eyebrow and turn to face him.

"I guess. But why would you ever wonder that?" Apollo replies. And everything goes back to normal, as if a student wasn't just attacked two or three minutes ago.

* * *

"Artemis, I love you."

It'll all be over soon, I tell myself. Just as soon as I tell Orion I love him too. Which I'd always assumed would be easy. But now that I've felt real love, I'm not so sure. Love isn't something you can just joke about, or not mean when you say it.

"Artemis, did you hear me? I love you," Orion repeats. He's down on one knee, clutching one of my hands. I smile weakly at him.

"I heard you. And I...do too!" I stammer. I glance around for Apollo, but apparently that wasn't enough. I have to actually say it.

"What, Artemis? Say it. Tell me that you love me." He sounds so excited, like a little kid with a new toy. But I don't love him. And I never could.

"I love you," I lie. He smiles, gets to his feet, and kisses me. My back is pressed up against a tree, his hand is above me, leaning on the trunk, and his lips are on mine. It'll be over soon.

But I can't continue to tell myself that when I feel his hand on my chest. When I taste his tongue on mine. When he starts pressing up against me. I don't know what to do. So I do all I know how to do. I draw my bow, and shoot.

There is another thing that you can't just joke about, or not mean when you do it. Killing someone.


	13. Chapter 13: The Adventures of Robin Hood

**Finally, chapter 13! Sorry it took me so long to post. It's passover so we've been busily preparing. PLEASE REVIEW. Tell me what you think, give me suggestions, ask me questions about the meaning of life, whatever. **

**AngelicVampireGirl: Thank you so much! That's so nice! I actually don't have any other stories up, but hopefully I'll finish with this one and post the sequel soon.**

**Lyria: Thank you! Your reviews are so nice! If you think it deserves more attention, please share with your friends (shameless self-promotion)! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. Also, their school play is ****_Robin Hood, _****and I don't own that either. Nor have I ever actually ****_seen _****it, so perhaps that wasn't the best choice...**

* * *

**_Artemis_**

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"No."

"Even prettier please with a...jar of nutella on top?"

"Well, if you put it that way, no."

Apollo sighs and runs a hand through his hair. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm not joining the play. Just because Aphrodite is terrible and the director refuses to let Apollo be the lead again doesn't mean that we all now have to join to save the show. No. Never. Ever. Ever. Getting back together (I had to).

"Please, guys? No one auditioned besides Aphrodite and I-"

"I wonder why?" Ares groans sarcastically.

"It could be fun," Hestia says. We all glare at her. "What? I'm just saying. They're not going to be able to do the show without us. Of course we'll join." Apollo smiles.

"What?! Since when do you speak for all of us?" Hermes demands. Hestia snaps her fingers. One of the wings on his sneakers catches fire. He stamps his foot wildly, trying to put it out, while Hestia covers her laughter with her hand. "OK, OK, I'll do the stupid play! Stop hurting my shoes! What did they ever do to you?" Hestia snaps her fingers again, and just like that the fire goes out.

"Aw, Fairy Feet's fairy powers were momentarily disabled," Ares taunts. Hermes glares at him.

"You know you have to do it, too," Hermes points out. Ares's smirk disappears.

"This is great! The theatre council is having a meeting at lunch for anyone who wants to audition," Apollo explains.

"And by; 'theatre council', you mean Mr. Oaks and yourself?" Athena says.

"Yes," Apollo mutters. The bell rings, and we start the walk to our lockers. I shove past Apollo with unnecessary roughness just to let him know that I'm not happy about this. And if he casts me as anything important, I'll kill him. Literally.

* * *

"Auditions are tomorrow until next week. Please prepare a song and bring piano music to go along with it. Any questions?" Mr. Oaks explains.

"Why am I here?" Hermes asks.

"Um...any other questions?" Mr. Oaks replies. No one has any questions. "Great! I guess I'll see you at auditions!" He's overly excited, and his bubbly mood sticks out alongside our bored, unenthusiastic demeanors. We file out of the door and into the hallway, where we decide to stay since our lunch table is certainly already taken. I take a seat with my back against the cold, metal lockers and glance around the boring hallway. It's quiet, which is odd for the hallway. Whenever I'm in it, it's full of noise. I've never seen it so uneventful.

"I can't believe you're making us do this," Ares growls. Hestia scoots closer to him and puts an arm around his shoulder.

"C'mon, it might be fun! Maybe you and I could sing a duet for our audition?" She suggests. Ares smiles slightly.

"I'm not singing," Hermes says vehemently.

"You have to sing to audition," Hephaestus reminds him.

"I'll sing the alphabet," Hermes replies.

"Wait, you know the alphabet?" Dionysus cuts in.

"Not yet," Hermes admits, "but I'll learn it."

"I'm just going to stand there," Persephone decides.

"I'm going to sing," Hestia says, "that's what we're supposed to do. If we're going to do this, we may as well try." That's a good point. My plan up until this had been to shoot Mr. Oaks. Well, I'd shoot something relatively near Mr. Oaks, just to let him know that I'm not happy about this. But maybe I should sing. We're already auditioning, there's no use in doing it and getting a terrible part. Then it would just be a waste of time.

"What play are we doing?" I ask, hoping I don't sound like I hold too much interest in this.

" 'Robin Hood'," Apollo replies. I've never heard of it.

"Isn't Robin Hood the guy that steals things and gives them to poor people?" Hermes asks. We all stare at him in disbelief. "What?" He defends, "I know stuff!"

"Sure you do," Athena mutters, "and yes. Robin Hood was a thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. The town of Nottingham was full of really poor people, because the king took all of their money for taxes, and it's up to Robin to save the people. Robin is an outlaw and he and his sidekick Little John were wanted for thievery, and-"

"Okay, okay, we didn't want the whole story," Ares cuts her off. Athena throws a grape at him. "Oh my gods, you've found my weakness. It's abnormally small grapes. Kill me now, I'm in so much pain!" Athena makes a face at him.

"I'm going to sing," I decide. Everyone turns and stares at me in disbelief. "Hestia's right. We're already auditioning, we may as well try." Hestia smiles at me.

"I'VE GOT IT!" Hermes cries suddenly. "A, B, C, D, F, H, Q..."

* * *

Between the Sheets is an uneventful, empty, and incredibly dorky place to be. It's a sheet music shop, with folders and packets and books falling out of every crevice. I say it's empty, but it's actually quite cramped. With music, though, not people. I mean, really, what sort of person would spend their time at Between the Sheets? Besides Apollo. Oh, that's right. Me. People like myself trying to find a song for their audition. I've been putting it off and putting it off, and now I have one day left to audition before the cast list goes up, without my name on it.

"Come on," I mutter to myself, flipping through a book of showtunes (ew), "there's got to be a song in here somewhere."

"Can't find one either?"

I look up to see Hermes beside me, holding a sheet of music.

"Are you going to sing that?" I gesture to the music in his hand.

"This? No. I don't even know what it says," He admits.

"We've only got one more day," I remind him. He nods.

"Well, I've almost got the alphabet down."

"What comes after F?"

"Um...Z?" I shake my head at him.

"G."

"I was close...?"

"No. Not really. Not at all, actually." He smiles sheepishly and looks at his feet.

"You know," I say, pulling a sheet from the cart, "we could do a duet." I hand him the music I'd just grabbed. He looks it over and nods.

"Yup," He replies, "I think we've found our song."

* * *

We stand in the hallway in front of the bulletin board, waiting for the cast list to go up. We're all pretending we don't care, but even Ares is secretly nervous. Well, nervous that he'll have to wear tights. I'm not really sure that I want to be Maid Marian. It's a good part and all, but do I want a good part? I convince myself that I couldn't care less, and it's not me deciding anyway so I don't need to stress about it.

Just then, Mr. Oaks walks out with a sheet of paper and tacks it to the board. We rush forward.

**Robin Hood...Hermes**

**Maid Marian...Artemis**

**Little John...Ares**

**Prince John of England...Apollo**

**Friar Tuck...Dionysus**

**The Sheriff...Hephaestus**

**Maid Marian's Lady-in Waiting...Hestia**

**Merry**_** Men**_

**Athena**

**Coral**

**Aphrodite**

_**Prince John's Followers**_

**Persephone**

**Perseus**

**Hercules**

_**Citizens of Nottingham**_

**Oops, not enough people auditioned. Well, this is awkward. I guess Nottingham is a ghost city. Goodbye now,**

Hermes

What. What. What. No way. I am not getting up in front of a bunch of people and singing. Or wearing tights. I will not wear tights. I refuse. Not happening.

"Who's Little John?" Ares asks.

"Robin Hood's sidekick," Athena explains. I stiffen. Ares and I have to work together? We only work well against each other.

"Um, no. I am not dancing around in tights with Fairy Feet, stealing from the poor and giving to the rich or whatever. No. End of story," He says firmly.

"Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor," Apollo corrects.

"Shut up, Prince John of England. No one likes you," Ares snaps.

"Is the Sheriff a big part?" Hephaestus asks nervously.

"Oh, yeah. He's, like, one of the main villains. He even gets to sing his own song," Apollo says, as if this is a good thing.

"I have to sing? Have fun with your play. I'm out of here," Hephaestus decides. Dionysus grabs his arm before he can run away.

"It could be fun," Dionysus reasons. "At least I don't have to sing. Do I?"

"Yup. 'Not in Nottingham'," Apollo replies. Dionysus's eyes widen.

"I'm with Hephaestus on this one. Run!" He cries.

"I can pull you," I suggest.

"I'm coming too!" Ares says.

"No one is leaving. You all made a commitment, and you have to go through with it." We turn around to see Mr. Oaks, fixing us with an unimpressed glare. "So, you've seen the cast. Any questions?" There are several questions, the most common being, "Do I have to wear tights?" Closely followed by, "When is the play over?" Mr. Oaks shakes his head at our lack of enthusiasm. "No one has to wear tights if they don't want to. They play will be in a few months, after the camping trip. Hermes and Ares will need to learn archery. And yes, if you spontaneously run away during rehearsal, I will notice your absence. Any other questions?"

"If you sneeze, fart, and burp at the same time, will your face explode?" Ares asks.

"Um, no. I don't think so, I've never tried. We have rehearsal starting tomorrow after school. I'll see you all then!"

Tomorrow? After school? Well, that answers one question.

I need to eat something rotten so I'll have food poisoning by tomorrow after school.


	14. Chapter 14: The Horse That Ate a Horse

**Here's chapter 14! I didn't get any reviews for my last chapter :(. Please review! I won't post the next chapter until I get at least two (OK-I probably won't. But I'm gonna say that I will. So there). This is a looooooong chapter, since the last one was pretty short and I couldn't get to a good stopping point. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Greek Mythology, or any characters from ****_Robin Hood _****mentioned in this chapter. Although I don't think there are any, but let's just be safe. **

* * *

_**Hermes**_

"The most important thing about archery is focus. Concentrate, look at the target, and shoot." I tighten my fingers on the bowstring, pull it back, and release. It lands two feet in front of me, missing the target by several feet.

"This is stupid," Ares says, dropping his bow in frustration.

"I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I agree with Ares. This is stupid," I agree.

"You can't say something's stupid. That's totally hypocrisy," Artemis replies.

"Hypocrisy?" I echo.

"You can't say something's stupid when you're so stupid yourself," She explains.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure." I fumble with the arrow again, trying to fit it into the bow. "Here," Artemis says, "let me help you." She slips the arrow into place with stunning ease. Then she hands it back to me, I draw the bow, and she puts her hands over mine. She moves the bow so it's pointed at the bullseye, and releases. It flies, straight and true, right to the center of the target. I turn to her, amazed.

"How...what?" I stammer. She smiles.

"Years and years of practice, Fairy Feet." She dusts off her hands and strides over to Ares. He yanks the bow string back and releases it, sending the arrow far beyond the target.

"For Zeus's sake, give that to me before you break it," Artemis commands. Ares hands it to her happily. She knocks an arrow and shoots a bullseye with ease.

"Fine," Ares says, "you play Little John. I've got better things to do." Artemis rolls her eyes.

"Like what?" She asks.

"There's a rather large group of nerds who haven't had their heads dunked in toilets since this whole play business started," Ares informs us.

"That's what you have to do?" She scoffs, "I'd much rather have gone to the barn with everyone else, but I have to stay here and teach you two hopeless noobs to shoot."

"You should have gone to the barn. You're really going to need the extra practice," I tease.

"As if. Didn't I just beat you?" She reminds me.

"At our last competition, which is practically ancient history. By the way, Quicksilver and I cleared the metal gate. You know, the one you were complaining about because you couldn't get Moonbeam over it?" I shoot back.

"Oh, please. If I was on Quicksilver, I could jump the moon!" Ares cuts in.

"Stick to your own problems, Little John. You're just the sidekick," I reply.

"Well, then," Ares mutters. I pull my bowstring back and release my arrow. It pierces the outermost ring of the target.

"YES! I HIT IT! DID YOU SEE THAT?! I HIT IT!" I cry. Artemis laughs.

"It's...improvement," She says.

"Improvement! Did you hear that, people? I have improvemented!" I announce.

"Improved. The verb form of 'improvement' is 'improved'," Artemis tells me.

"Whatever! I improved," I say. Just then, Ares's watch beeps.

"Yes!" He cries, "Thirty minutes is over! We can leave!"

"Well, I'm not waiting for you slowpokes." And with that, I dash off towards the barn. Then I remember that the bus has already left, and they have no way of getting there. So I run back, grab Artemis by the wrist, and dash off again. I'm not getting Ares. He's a big boy now, he can walk.

It's about halfway into the trip that I realize I'm holding her by the wrist and she's skidding along wildly behind me, so I pause long enough to hoist her onto my back. Then we bolt along towards the barn again. These are the moments I love, when I'm with her and she's with me, and she's shrieking with happy laughter, and the woods is flashing by so fast that you don't even have time to think if you've just seen a monster, because if you have you really should tell someone because monsters aren't supposed to be loose to close to MOJH campus, and then the school would send out a group of trained monster fighters and we'd all get to miss a class to watch them fight, and that would be great because who doesn't want to miss class, but maybe you didn't see a monster and anyway this is a really long sentence so it doesn't even matter.

We arrive at the barn to find that everyone is already back from practice, which is weird because generally practice goes from when we get to the barn until 11 o'clock at night. But now all the horses are in their stalls, untacked and eating dinner at least six hours early. Not that they seem to be complaining.

"Where is everyone?" Artemis asks.

"I don't know," I reply, crossing to Quicksilver's stall and stroking his nose. He knickers softly. I look over my shoulder to Artemis and Moonbeam.

"He hasn't been exercised," She remarks. Moonbeam is bobbing his head frantically and pacing about his stall, restless from being cooped up all day.

"We could turn them out for the night," I suggest, "there's no use riding them if everyone else is already gone." Just then, we hear voices.

"Sounds like they're in the tack room," Artemis says. We abandon our horses and start down the hallway, the voices getting louder as we near the tack room. "They're definitely in there," She says, flinging open the door. The others are absently scrubbing their tack and listening to Ares (how he beat us to the barn I have no idea) and Apollo argue over whether or not speed racing really belongs at the A-Circuit Competitions.

"It's not part of the three-day," Apollo says, "it never has and it never will be. Racing is for drunk betters with too much money and not enough life left to spend it, not fancy show-riders and coaches."

"Then why has it been included every year at A-Circuit?" Ares points out.

"Because they need the betting money to keep the competitions running," Apollo answers. Just then, the door opens and Crystal strides in.

"Nice of you to show up," She says to Artemis and I. "Follow me, I have a surprise for you in the other barn." Everyone's face reads shock and excitement. We've never been allowed in the small, black barn on the other side of the gelding field. And whenever we asked Crystal what was in there, she'd brush it away and change the subject. Now that we were allowed in, I was actually sort of nervous about what was hidden there. Crystal's collection of past students that didn't like her? Or, what's left of them? Yeah, that sounds probable.

Crystal leads us through the barn doors and across the gelding field. I absently pat Popcorn as we pass by, the big bay cob that taught all of us to ride. He knickers softly and moves over to the other geldings to graze. They step aside for him. Despite his age, he's still the alpha. Crystal pushes open the gate and we file through. She steps in front of us and opens the door to the barn, and we step inside.

It looks like any old barn. Nothing special, except the ten stunning horses in the stalls.

"They may seem like unusually beautiful horses, but these are very different from anything you've ever sat on," Crystal tells us. "They're fire horses. Half dragon, half horse. They can't be properly trained, so riding them is a gamble of life and death. Also, they eat meat. Fall off and you're a meal. The plus side is, they run faster, jump higher, and move smoother than any land horse. They're also allowed in competition, so if you can get one to listen to you, that gold medal at Nationals is yours." We stand motionless, staring at her in shock. She wants us to sit on these? "Well," She says, "what are you waiting for? Go pick your horse." We start down the aisle way, pressed tightly to the center so we don't have to get too close. Apollo steps away first. He goes to the side of a beautiful dun horse, it's ears pinned and it's teeth bared. It relaxes, however, when Apollo presses his hand to it's nose. We stop and watch him intently. Persephone lets out a small shriek when it snorts fire out onto his hand, but Apollo brushes off the flames like a piece of dirt. Fire doesn't harm the great god of the sun.

One by one, we all approach one of the horses. I am the last one still in the middle of the barn. I walk to the last stall, the only one without a person on the other side of the half-wall separating horse from human. It holds a horse so chestnut that he is red, as red as the blood his kind feasts on. His mane falls long and uneven, slightly wavy. It's not what you look for in a show horse, you want a clean cut, glossy mane. But it suits him. His name plaque reads "Vatra", which I know means "fire" in some uncommon language. He shoves his nose into my open palm, sniffing me. Then he rears his head back and I'm sure I'm done for, he's going to eat me or barbeque me. But he doesn't, he just starts sniffing me all over. I almost want to laugh, but I can't forget the very real possibility of death.

"Has everyone found one?" Crystal asks. There's a murmured response of, "Yes." Crystal nods, pleased. "Well, their tack is in their cubbies by their stalls. Have a nice ride!" And with that, she's gone.

"A nice ride?" Ares echoes, "We have to ride these things?" I open Vatra's cubby and retrieve his bridle, leaving his saddle where it is. I'm better bareback, and I'm not taking any chances on a monster like Vatra. Surprisingly, Vatra lets me bridle and mount him without much hassle. It's once I'm on him that I feel the heat.

Vatra has no blood, he is made of fire. Only the thin fabric of my jeans and his blood red coat separates me from the flames in between my legs. Heat courses through me until I am made of fire as well. I can feel his speed in his quivering muscles beneath me. He is eager to go, and he prances nervously from foot to foot.

"I don't like this," Persephone says uneasily. Her own fire horse, a pretty piebald, is pawing the ground restlessly. Vatra catches sight of her mare and approaches, ears pricked. Something tells me this is the first time they've had access to each other. Suddenly, Apollo's dun snorts. It trots in front of Vatra and glares, saying, this mare is mine, get your own. "What's going on?" Persephone asks. We have no time to respond before the two horses rear, tangling their front legs in combat.

"Whoa!" I cry, clinging to Vatra's mane. I remember everything I have ever learned about staying on. I imagine my fingers are part of the mane. I imagine I my feet are weights, pressing me down onto Vatra's back. I imagine I am glued to him, permanently anchored. I get him down and away from Apollo, but I'm unsure about all of this. I don't like being afraid of my horse. They can tell when you're afraid.

"Well," Ares says, "let's see how they run." He gives his a slap with his open palm, and it surges forward, a flash of grey and black. We take off after him, and all of my doubts are gone. The speed is incredible. Rarely have I met something half as fast as me, Vatra is almost faster. He overtakes the others until we are one on one with Artemis and her strawberry roan, and the two of us bolt onward. Then suddenly we are right in front of the gelding field fence.

"We can't let them in there!" Artemis cries, "they'll eat the other horses!" I forgot about that. Frantically, I yank at Vatra's reins. It makes no difference. I have no control. He leaps the fence, along with the other fire horses, and charges towards the nearest meal; Popcorn. I don't know what to do, but I know I can't let him eat the most beloved horse at the barn. Maybe I'd let him eat Moonbeam or Warrior, but not Popcorn.

"Vatra, stop," I whisper in his ear. I don't know why I did it; it's not like he can speak English. But it got his attention and he's slowed down. Again on impulse, I reach up to his ears and snap my fingers softly. He flinches but keeps running. I snap louder, then louder, and louder, and louder. He stops. I don't snap. He starts walking. I snap. He stops. I look around and realize that the other horses have stopped, too. They are looking around, wondering what made Vatra stop. Vatra is their alpha male, like Popcorn is to the geldings. But there's one horse that doesn't care that the other's have stopped. She's hungry, and Popcorn is her meal.

"Elster!" Persephone screams, "Stop!" Elster (German for "magpie", a black and white bird. Piebalds are black and white horses) charges onward. Popcorn looks up and realizes the horse after him is an enemy. Whether or not he registers that she means to eat him I cannot tell, but he knows she's not a horse and he runs. She runs after him.

He doesn't stand a chance.

None of us know what to do. The fire horses are incredibly fast, and chasing after Elster would mean adding our own meat-eating fire horses to the equation. More carnivorous beasts is not what we need. If only there was something that was as fast as the fire horses...

Wait a second. I am.

I leap off of Vatra's back and hastily toss the reins to Artemis. She looks at me in confusion, and in that one look, she realizes what I mean to do.

"Hermes, you're not going to...?" She asks, gesturing to the chase going on before us.

"What else can we do?" I reply. And with that, I bolt. It's me against Elster, the closest race I've ever ran. She spots me out of the corner of her eye and charges towards Popcorn, thinking that I mean to eat him too. He's her meal if he's anyone's, and she needs to prove this. She puts on a new burst of speed, which I match. She lets out an angry squeal and surges forward. I take a deep breath and run like hell, as fast as I possibly can. This better be faster than Elster's fastest, or Popcorn is screwed. Somehow, I manage to reach Popcorn before Elster, and I throw myself in front of him. Shit, I didn't think this through. What am I going to do now? Elster rears up, throwing her feet out threateningly. Then she curls her lip up, opens her mouth, and screams.

I'm not kidding. She actually screams. This is not a sound horses are capable of producing. It's eery and loud and terrifying, and ancient call that hails from the dragon side of her. So much anger and promised pain is in that one scream. Whether that pain is mine or Popcorn's depends on my decision right now. I could run while I still can and leave Popcorn to her, or I could stay here and put my life before Popcorn's. Time is ticking. Her descent seems to be in slow motion. Her feet hit the ground with a thunk, and I brace myself. But instead of her teeth snapping around my neck, feel a warm body pushing me to the side. It's not warm like Vatra was, no, he was hot. This is warm. Warm and soft, like the coat of a horse. I open my eyes and see that Popcorn has pushed me away from Elster. She descends upon him with her jaws, and I know it's over. There's nothing I can do. He falls to the ground, and she rips into his side. He gives one last, pained cry, then goes silent.

Popcorn is dead.

* * *

"Artemis, I've heard word that Orion is dead." Artemis looks up from the table and gets to her feet, bending slightly at the knee and bowing her head.

"Yes. He's dead," She replies. Dad regards her quizzically, and Apollo furrows his eyebrows.

"So the myth is over?" He questions.

"Yes-well, not exactly. I killed him," She says.

"That's what was supposed to happen," Dad reminds her.

"Well, Yes, but...Apollo didn't trick me into killing him. I killed him on my own." There's an audible gasp. Our father chews his lip, biting in anger.

"And why exactly did you do this?" He asks.

"He started kissing me, like, with his tongue. And-and touching me. And I just didn't know what to do!"

"So you killed him?"

"Yes." Dad lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Artemis, why couldn't you just let him kiss you? And let him touch you? Why did you have to kill him, of all things?" He asks.

"Because I don't love him! I couldn't let him do that to me if I didn't love him. You wouldn't know, as you'll fool around with any nymph that lifts her skirt and spreads her legs for you!" She snaps. His eyes widen. Everyone gasps.

"If I didn't do so, you wouldn't be here," He reminds her. "Furthermore, you'll learn to respect your father." She nods and sits back down. There's a long, weighty silence.

"Hey, guys, what's the difference between chopped beef and pea soup?" I ask.

"One is chopped beef and the other is pea soup?" Ares guesses.

"Everyone can chop beef, but not everyone can pee soup!" I reply.

"Um...okay," Apollo says.

"Get it? Because it's pea soup, but then, like, pee soup?" I explain.

"I got it, Fairy Feet," He tells me. Dad bangs his gavel. Not that anyone listens to the gavel, I'm pretty sure he only has it because he likes gaveling. Gaveling? Is that a word? Let's say it is. Anyway, he keeps gaveling, and we keep ignoring him until he "accidentally" gavels on Poseidon's finger and his howl of pain grabs our attention.

"We still have matters to discuss," He reminds us.

"Oh give it up, Zeus. Everyone knows we don't. You just like gaveling," Hades sighs.

"Maybe," Zeus says.

"Meeting adorned!" Hades calls.

"I was supposed to say that!" Dad pouts. We ignore him and file out of the meeting room. Halfway down the hall, Apollo pulls Artemis into one of the rooms. I stop and listen.

"How could you kill him?"

"I told you, he was assaulting me!"

"He wasn't, he thought you wanted to."

"Well, I didn't!"

"Then you shouldn't have told him you loved him!"

"What was I supposed to say? 'Sorry, Orion, I don't feel the same. Still friends?' Wouldn't that have been just as bad?"

"Well, at least he would've still been alive for you to fix things!"

"Why does it even matter anymore?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's dead now. There's nothing I can do about it!"

"There was something you could've done."

"And what was that?"

"You could have not killed him in the first place!"

"So is this what we're going to do? You're going to sit here and tell me I shouldn't have killed him? Newsflash: I'm aware!"

"I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't have killed him. You'll hear that enough. I'm going to tell you that you should at least feel bad about it."

"I do feel bad about it!"

"You feel bad that he's dead, but not that you killed him."

"Who are you to tell me what I feel?"

"Please. You're my little sister. I can read you like a book."

"Oh, grow up, Apollo! I'm not yours anymore! Let me live my life!"

"So I should just let you run around killing people?"

"If that's what I want, then yes."

"Oh gods."

"Don't roll your eyes at me! This is my life. I'll do what I want!"

"And killing people is what you want?"

"There are some people that you just need to kill."

"Oh, so your excuse for this is that Orion is a nuisance and deserved to be killed?"

"Apollo, why won't you listen to me? He raped me."

"Gods, Artemis, when will you understand the concept of rape? He thought you wanted to."

"So you're defending the boy that touched me? And French kissed me?"

"Well, afterwards you killed him, so I think he's the one that deserves to be defended."

"I didn't know what to do!"

"So, naturally, you killed him."

"Stop. Stop with this. It's over and done with. It's not like I'm going to bring him back to life."

"I can't believe this!" But Artemis doesn't reply, and a few seconds later she storms out of the room. She doesn't even notice me as she stomps down the hallway, a blur of flying brown hair. Apollo walks out after her, takes a few steps in her direction, then gives it up and flops back against the wall. It's then that he notices me. "I can't believe she did that."

"I can. Orion was kind of a douche, and Artemis doesn't have the best temper," I point out.

"Yeah, but I never imagined she'd kill him."

"Neither did I. But it's not our place to reprimand her. I'm sure Dad will do enough of that." He nods, then looks up at me. I can see something in his eyes that I didn't expect. It isn't anger. It's a sort of fear, and I guess I sort of understand it. She's his sister, he's been through it all with her. And now she's a murderess in his eyes, no longer that wild girl that would still be friendly and soft with him. She's lost that side that was only him and her, she's only the huntress, terrifying and dangerous. He's scared of her and he doesn't want to be. I understand it, I'm scared of my own mother. It's shameful that I'm such a coward, and sad that I no longer love her like I used to. I'll always love her, but it's different than it used to be. It's love with a dark side. "Are you okay?" I ask. He nods.

"Yeah. You?" I'm not really sure how to respond to this. My life would be so much easier if I told him everything. I'd leave our cave in Arcadia, and I'd never have to see her again. They'd treat the new belt marks on my back so that maybe I wouldn't have as many scars. I wouldn't have to come home every night wondering if I'll make it until eight o'clock and still be conscious. Everything would be OK.

"Yeah."

* * *

"Professor Nike is out sick, so I'll be your teacher for today. We're going to start by seeing how each of you handles a dragon. You'll have thirty seconds to decapitate it. There are no rules, besides; don't die. Got it?" Phobos explains. We nod. Just my luck. The one class that I don't despise, and Phobos is teaching it.

Ares goes first. He doesn't take any crap from the dragon, just walks right up and decapitates it. Phobos calls this method "straight attack". Apollo and Artemis both scale the wall of the arena and shoot from there, hitting it in the skull and killing it. According to Phobos, this is "kill from a distance" (he's a genius with names). We're supposed to be taking notes. Athena bangs her sword together with her shield and runs in circles, dizzying the dragon until it practically walks into her blade. This is "strategic kill".

Finally, it's my turn. I tuck some knives into my belt loop and enter the arena.

"Three, two, one, go!" Phobos announces. He presses the timer releases the dragon.

I dart behind a wall and wait, my fingers curled around the handle of a knife. The dragon looks around for a moment, then trots off in my direction. It finds me, and we stand face to face for a moment. Then it opens it's mouth to breathe fire at me, and I fly behind another wall. It roars, frustrated, and trots back around to find me again. This hide-and-go-seek continues until Phobos shouts, "TEN SECONDS!" I dart behind another wall and wait for it to find me. I've gotten it angry enough that when it sees me, it rears up on it's hind legs and roars. I slide underneath it and position my knife so it's pointing up at the dragon's soft underbelly. When it comes down, it lands on my blade. I squirm out from beneath it as it gives one last half-hearted belch of fire, then I cut it's head off. "Finished with three seconds left," Phobos announces. 27 seconds, that's not so bad-WAIT, I JUST DID SUBTRACTION.

Anyway, I walk back over to the others and stand in between Artemis and Apollo, who are having their usual argument about who came out of the vagina first.

"Did you see me take down that dragon? And not a scratch on me," I boast.

"Hermes?" Artemis says.

"Yeah?"

"Your shirt's on fire."

"HOLY F*CK! OH MY GODS, PUT IT OUT, PUT IT OUT, PUT IT OUT! OH SH*T, I'M GONNA DIE! SH*T SH*T SH*T, I'M F*CKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO BE DEAD-"

"Calm down, Herpes, it's gone," Ares scoffs.

"Oh. Okay then. It's all good!" Artemis rolls her eyes at me, and I make a face at her.

"Look!" Aphrodite cries, pointing to the arena where an unfortunate nymph is trying to wrestle the dragon off of her. Phobos leaps into the arena and wraps his arms around it's mouth, holding it's jaws closed. Training isn't as intense here as it is at training camp. At camp, Odysseus would've left that nymph on her own, and she would've either had to get it off, or one of us would've helped her. But, since this is MOJH and if one of us dies the school is responsible, Phobos yanks the dragon's head back, giving the nymph a clear stab at its neck. The nymph drives her dagger through the dragon's neck until it comes out the other side, and the dragon collapses. Dead. Phobos releases it and helps the nymph out from under it's body, then walks out of the arena.

"Alright everyone, where did Echo go wrong?" He asks. We glance around at each other. That's Echo? Echo has never been particularly beautiful, but she was never ugly either. She just wasn't as strikingly gorgeous as the other nymphs. A rumor had gone around that she'd died her brown hair red and gotten a nose job, but no one believed it. Until now. Her hair is as red as Persephone's, and her nose as straight and pretty as Aphrodite's. "Well?" Phobos prompts, "Anyone know the answer?" Of course, Athena does.

"She was afraid of the dragon. If she hadn't been, she wouldn't have let it get on top of her," She explains. Phobos nods.

"That's right. Never be afraid of your opponent. Keep one mindset: I am better than them. They should be afraid of me," He explains. Well, that's easy for Phobos, god of fear, to say. Everyone is afraid of him. It's not that he's even that scary looking. He just teaches P.E., which automatically makes him an omen of bad fortune. Suddenly, the bell rings, signaling the end of class. We all rush to get our things and leave. The sooner we can get away from Phobos the better. He gives me the creeps.

We reach the hallway and I cross to my locker, swinging open the door and receiving an avalanche of dirt. I hear laughter behind me, but I don't turn around. I don't need to take this from Theseus, but I will. I don't want to get in more trouble than I already am for "attacking him" in the cafeteria on Monday. I sigh, brush myself off, and start to walk towards the cafeteria.

"Where do you think you're going, Fairy Feet?" Theseus asks. I don't reply, just keep walking. "I said: Where do you think you're going? You haven't been taught a lesson for messing with me."

"You're right. I'm so sorry, your highness, for saving your sorry butt and telling Demeter that I attacked you. I don't know why I did it, considering you really have nothing to lose anyway. But I did it and I suppose I didn't do it well enough. I really am sorry," I tell him sarcastically.

"You're gonna pay for that one, Herpes," He snarls, slamming me up against the lockers. The loud noise echoes around the hall, and everyone turns to stare at the two of us. Theseus wraps his hands against my throat and gives a sly smile. My eyes widen. He wouldn't. That's too much, even for him.

Oh, he would.

He squeezes hard, bruising my neck and blocking my airflow. I gasp for air, my eyes nearly popping out of me head. And still Theseus squeezes. The worst part is that he's laughing. He laughs while he strangles me, as if this is his favorite pastime. Which it probably is. I start to see black spots, and I'm not really sure what to do. Then I remember something that happened way long ago. On page 9, to be exact. So, I knee him in the crotch.

FREEDOM!

Theseus releases me and doubles over, and I suck in a deep breath. I lean against the lockers and wait until my vision clears, before straightening up and walking away.

Just as if nothing ever happened.

* * *

"Why are you so dirty?" My mother asks, frowning at the dirt that still remains from Theseus's lovely gift.

"I got pranked at school," I explain, heading for the stairs. She blocks the way.

"Well, you should be more careful, then," She reprimands.

"Mom, I can't stop people from pranking me. That's just the way junior high is."

"Yeah? Well, guess who's going to have to clean the dirt off of those clothes?"

"I can do it, if you want."

"Please. You wouldn't know how if you tried. Besides, you don't get home until midnight, anyway."

"I have a lot of messages to deliver."

"Oh, your job is so important! I'm the one that puts a roof over your ungrateful head!"

"Mom, we live in a cave."

"So, this isn't good enough for you, huh?"

"No, I was just saying-"

"Kids these days. So ungrateful, worthless, and rude!"

"I-I'm sorry, Mom!"

"Enough! You'll meet me in my room when I call you." She storms up the stairs. I know what she'll be doing while I wait for the torture. She's getting drunk so she can justify the fact that she's, slowly but surely, killing her son. I could leave. Right now, I could run away while she's upstairs drinking. I'm too fast, she'd never catch me. Not that she'd care enough to try. I consider running, I really do. But what if, for some strange reason, she did care? What if she worried? I couldn't do that to her. Not after she raised me, and cared for me, and loved me. Sure, things took a turn for the worse. But she's my mother, and I'll always love her.

"HERMES!"

Sometimes, it's hard to remember that.

I walk, slowly, up the stairs until I reach her room, and yank open the door. She stands, studded belt in hand, if front of a chair. She points to it, saying nothing. But she tells me so much. I pull my shirt over my head and kneel on the chair, my back to her. I don't watch the belt rise. I don't watch it fall. I don't need to watch it hit my skin. I feel it more than I could ever see it. It's like a thousand knives, cutting into my skin. It's hotter than Vatra's fiery blood. I can't describe it, so I won't. Because I really hate when people say, "Words can't describe it," and then proceed to describe whatever thing could not be described, using words.

She keeps at me until about two in the morning. Miraculously, I am still conscious. But this is about the time that I would leave to deliver the morning's messages, and I certainly can't go like this. Blood soaked, barely conscious, and so, so, broken.

What am I going to do?


	15. Chapter 15: Riding Fire

**Here's chapter 15! I got three reviews, and they were great. If I get two more, I'll post the next chapter. And it's a really good one, so you should review. It's, like, the best chapter in the whole story. So, yeah. Review. :D.**

**Lyria: Wow! Thank you for such a long review! I'm glad you enjoyed it! The fire horses were inspired by the water horses in ****_The Scorpio Races_********by Maggie Stiefvater. It's really good, you should check it out. You should get an account so I can send you sneak peaks of the next chapter!**

**AngelicVampierGirl: No need to apologize, you don't have to review every chapter (although if you review, I'll post the next chapter faster. And I really like getting them). Thank you so much!**

**Guest: Thank you! That's so nice of you to say and great to hear. I really want to be a professional writer, so hearing that positive feedback really fuels my self-esteem. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. The secret is out. **

* * *

We aren't supposed to go back to the little black barn. After Crystal found Popcorn dead, she forbade us from returning. Popcorn had been her competition pony when she was younger than us, she'd raised him from a colt. And we killed him. I killed him. I was the only one that had a shot at saving him. And I let him die.

So, we aren't supposed to go back. But something about the danger, both of Vatra and doing something forbidden, draws me back to the little black barn. After all, I'm the god of mischief. I was born to break rules. So I creep back behind the big barn, dash through the gelding field, and slip inside. The fire horses are tucked inside their stalls, but they look more restless now that they've seen the outside world. Particularly restless is lovely Elster, her eyes hungry. I steer clear of her. She is a monster. Artemis's strawberry roan, Maduixa (Catalan for "strawberry"), looks at me warily. I can see her intelligence in her eyes. She studies me as a human would, and it scares me. One by one, I pass the stalls. Lanen, Aurum, Arcelia, Siva, Elster, Sininen, Seepra, Maduixa, Abra, and finally, Vatra. He's huge, an enormous 29.2 hands. Which actually isn't that large for a fire horse. Dionysus's brindle stallion, Seepra, is 30.1 hands. The smallest in here is Aphrodite's, Arcelia, and she's 25.1 hands. For a normal horse, that's gargantuan!

I open his cubby and pull out his bridle, then slide the lock open. He snorts in surprise and bobs his head anxiously at the noise. I am forever reminded how much of a gamble this is. I slip into the stall and place my hand on his nose in an attempt to still him. He jerks his head and knocks my hand off. I reach my fingers up to his ear and snap loudly. He flinches and stamps his feet. He hates that noise, but I'll never know why. I grab his head again to hold him steady, and we stare at eachother for a moment, as if deciding who's in charge here. He's clearly more powerful, so it's all up to him. That's bad. When riding, you need to be the boss. Or else you're just going along for the ride. Vatra shakes his head wildly, and I twist his ear sharply. He squeals and throws his head up, then brings it back down and allows me to bridle him. I've won.

I lead him out of his stall and to the mounting block, where I clamber onto his back and brace myself for the heat. It comes, but it's not as painful as last time. Crystal is out looking for a replacement for Popcorn, so the arena is open. I take Vatra there. He prances restlessly and pulls and the bit, but I keep him in check. And the training begins.

THIS WOULD BE THE MONTAGE PART.

As the secret training continues, I learn things about Vatra. He's the alpha because he's the fastest and the strongest. He doesn't get along with Seepra, so I have to avoid him when I'm cooling Vatra out inside the barn. He won't attack normal horses as easily as Elster, but I shouldn't let him get too close. There's no point in holding him back, because he can run for hours on end without tiring. I need to slow him around corners or he'll crash, because he doesn't know to already. He won't attack other fire horses, nor will he defend himself easily. It takes him awhile to get angry enough to fight back, so I can't let him near Seepra or he'll be mauled. He'll over-jump if I don't keep him in check. I need to have a feel of his mouth the whole time, or he'll run away with me. He gets excited easily. He won't stand still unless you really make him. He'll always listen to you if you twist his ear. He doesn't mind the bit at all, but to put a girth on him is to have your head bitten off. He's curious about humans, but he won't bite. Unless, of course, you put a girth on him. He likes ham as a treat. The more we train, the more I grow to like him. I have more of a connection with him than I ever did with Quicksilver or even my old show horse, Prince. So, now comes the hard part.

I found Crystal in the gelding field, putting a halter on a handsome Marwari named Terror. He's a bad-tempered black stallion that Crystal has been meaning to sell for years but could never find anyone dumb enough to buy him. I shove my hands into my pockets and run over what I'm going to say to her one more time.

"Um, Crystal?" I say. She turns. Terror seizes the opportunity to tug at the lead rope. She pops it roughly.

"I'm kind of busy, if you haven't noticed," She snaps, popping the rope again. I take the rope from her and wind it around Terror's front leg, then hand it back to her. Now he know's he's toast if he tries to run.

"Um, I was wondering, you have me on Quicksilver for the competition tomorrow, right?" I ask. She nods. "Well, uh, I was just thinking, maybe I could switch?" She raises an eyebrow.

"To whom?" She asks.

"To Vatra." She hesitates for a moment.

"Choose another horse."

"Vatra, or I don't compete." I've got her there. She knows she'd be losing a great shot at Nationals if she loses me. Artemis is good, but as the competition get harder, her ugly riding starts to matter.

"You understand why I have to say no," She says.

"Actually, I don't. I've got a much better shot at the gold on him," I explain.

"He's a monster! You're fourteen years old, I can't trust you not to kill another horse."

"That was Persephone's horse, not Vatra. He was perfectly well-behaved."

"You wouldn't be able to handle him in the commotion of the shows."

"I think I could."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you."

"I know how to handle him! He's bad, I twist his ear. He's good, I give him food." She narrows her eyes.

"How do you know this?"

That's a very good question.

"Oh, well, you know, I was just, uh, guessing," I flounder. She raises her eyebrows. Terror reaches forward and noses her head. She gives the rope a tug, yanking his leg out from under him. He squeals and falls on his side.

"If you were just guessing, than I can't trust you to compete on him," She says briskly, unwinding Terror's leadrope and yanking him to his feet. She begins to lead him out of the field. I hurry after her.

"Wait!" I call. "I wasn't guessing! I've been working with him, and I've found out that's what works. I promise I can handle him!" She swings open the gate and turns to face me.

"If anything goes wrong, I will kill you. Good luck."

* * *

Everyone knows he's a monster. If not everyone, then every horse. They're all on edge, their owners frantically trying to calm them. Shrill whinnies ring out across the grounds, and horses and riders alike part before Vatra and I. He's thrilled, his ears happily pricked and his eyes sparkling as he surveys this never-ending array of possible meals. But he doesn't seem at all predacious, just curious. Still, the others part before us. One little girl troubles to move a roan Brumby out of the way. It's ears are pinned and it stands, stubborn as a mule. Brumbies are bad-tempered, mean, and ugly. Why anyone would have one at a competition is beyond me. She's dirty and small, seemingly no match for the beast before her. Why would anyone put this little girl on a Brumby?

_Έλα! Θα σας φάνε! Μετακίνηση!_ She yells at it in Greek. I translate, "Come on! It will eat you! Move!" Vatra cocks his head, enjoying the show. She pulls on the rope a bit more, finally convincing the stubborn pony to move. Once he's out of the way, I stir Vatra into a trot, making my way through the grounds and back to our trailer, where the others are primping Grapevine and Beauty for dressage. Apollo is fixing another blue ribbon to Sunburst's bridle, and Athena does the same with a red one. Persephone came in fifth.

"Hermes!" Dionysus calls. I glance over to see him struggling with Grapevine's back hoof. I walk over.

"Need help?" I ask. He nods. I crouch down beside Grapevine, take the hoof pick, and lightly tap along his cannon bone. Suddenly, he squeals sharply and kicks out. I straighten up and scratch the back of my head. "Did he hit any jumps or anything recently?" I question. Dionysus furrows his brow.

"I don't think so, but he may have gotten in a fight in the field. I turned him out last night so he wouldn't be too restless in the trailer," He explains. I bend back down and squeeze Grapevine's leg again. He whinnies sharply and stamps his other hind leg. I don't want to tell Dionysus the truth.

"Oh. Well, um, he might be a bit lame. Maybe you shouldn't ride him today," I suggest. Dionysus nods. That's not close to as bad as it is. If I'm right, Grapevine's cannon bone is broken. That can be a fatal injury. At best, he'll never be ridden again. Dionysus clips the lead rope onto Grapevine's halter and tries to lead him back onto the trailer, but he won't budge. Dionysus clucks softly to him, trying to urge him on. Still he doesn't move.

"Come on, Grapevine. I'll fix you up," Dionysus promises. Grapevine snorts and shakes his head. Dionysus tugs the rope desperately. I don't think I can watch this anymore.

"Wait!" I cry, crouching back down by Grapevine's legs. My hands flutter around his cannon bone, but I'm not willing to touch it. "Um, well, this is just a guess, but maybe...um, his cannon bone might be broken." Dionysus's eyes widen. "Maybe! I'm not sure! But, you know, even if it is, some horses survive it!"

"Some," Dionysus says quietly, his eyes sweeping the ground.

"Grapevine is a great horse. He probably will," Hephaestus replies, placing a hand on Dionysus's shoulder. I feel awkward watching this, so I slowly walk away. You don't even know what you're talking about, I try to convince myself, you're probably wrong. Gods, I hope so. I don't know what I'd do if Quicksilver broke his cannon.

"Riders up for dressage!" Crystal calls. Aphrodite swings aboard Beauty, and we follow her down to the ring. Dionysus trails along behind, hand in hand with Hephaestus. One by one, we watch the riders. Aphrodite completes the routine flawlessly, then prances out of the arena with a satisfied smirk.

"It doesn't matter that you didn't compete," Aphrodite says to Dionysus, "I would've beat you anyway." He doesn't reply. Hephaestus glares at her.

"Fuck off!" He hisses. Crystal shoots him a warning glance.

Then it's time for cross country. As usual, Artemis rides incredibly fast. Her technique is improving, but her speed has ceased to impress me now that I'm riding Vatra. She finishes with a time of a minute and a half. It's insanely fast, for a land horse.

Then they call my number.

Vatra and I ride to the starting point. I hear surprised whispers at his size and some that he is a fire horse. The horn sounds, and we take off. His speed is incredible. We hurtle over jumps effortlessly, and still he thunders on. Then we approach the first corner. I try to rein him in, but he doesn't reply. So I reach to his ear, and snap my fingers. He flinches and bobs his head, but doesn't quite slow. So I grab his ear and give it a quick, sharp twist. He slows down, canters smoothly around the corner, then picks up speed and flies over the next three jumps. I spare a glance at the timer. We've completed half the course in fifteen seconds. And still Vatra runs like the wind. The rest of the course is a speedy blur.

"Finishing with a time of 30.2 seconds, Hermes riding Vatra!" Murmurs break out in the crowd at this record time. I slow Vatra and pat his neck. He hasn't broken a sweat. We watch the rest of the contestants, then file into the arena for awards. Vatra holds his head high, as if knowing that no one else stands a chance against him. The little roan beside us prances nervously.

"Second runner-up is...Alona riding Sugar!" She rides to the center, receives her award, takes a victory lap, and prances out of the arena.

"First runner-up is...Artemis riding Moonbeam!" Artemis smiles at the cheering crowd, takes her silver medal, canters around the arena, and exits. Moonbeam loves the attention, he throws his feet out and tosses his silky mane. The crowd laughs and cheers.

"And today's gold medal goes to...Hermes riding Vatra!" Vatra seems to recognize his name, because his ears prick happily and he prances in place. We trot over to receive our medal. Vatra loves the cheering. He seems to be posing for the spectators, swinging his head from side to side and pawing the ground. I take him out for a victory lap, and he dazzles the crowd with his speed. He trots out of the arena, and I take him by Crystal, making sure to shoot her a triumphant smirk.

_**Artemis**_

"You're sure you can't go?" I press, throwing my bag into the underbelly of the bus.

"Positive," Hermes says, staring at his feet.

"It's going to suck without you," I tell him, "no one to put glue on the port-a-potty door." He smiles at the memory. It had been funny, listening to Ares pound the door until he knocked the entire thing on its side. But it hadn't smelled the greatest.

"You'll manage," He says.

"I don't know. A whole week in a tent with Aphrodite and Coral?" I remind him. Your tent mates are assigned to you, and I'd always been with Athena and Hestia. Until this year.

"I take it back," He replies, "you won't. Good luck!" I smack him lightly on the head.

"Oh, yeah, and you're going to have so much more fun partying with your mom all week," I shoot back. The color drains from his face, along with his usually ever-present smile. Weird.

"I don't know, I'd probably rather hang with her than Aphrodite and Coral."

"STUDENTS ON THE BUS!" Professor Demeter yells.

"Have fun," He tells me. Before I can think of a reason not to, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him full on the lips. Then I break away and leave him dumbfounded.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Aphrodite whines.

"Because we're on dinner duty. Now shut up if you want to eat," I reply.

"It's cold," Coral groans, rubbing her arms.

"Should've worn a jacket. Could you please be quiet so I can kill something?" I hiss. They fall silent. I tiptoe through the woods some more, until I catch sight of a bear in a clearing just ahead. I draw my bow, ready to shoot, and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The bear bolts. I whirl around, dropping my bow.

"What is it now?" I demand.

"B-b-b-bear!" Aphrodite stutters.

"I know there was a bear," I sigh, "it was going to be our dinner!" Coral crinkles her nose in disgust.

"We were going to eat that?" She asks.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" I ask. She shrugs.

"No. But still, that's gross," She says.

"Your face is gross," I mutter under my breath, continuing through the woods. They follow me silently. The woods seem to be totally empty, but we have to find something. If we come back dinner-less, they'll eat us. Suddenly, I hear hoofbeats. Running hoofbeats. That's perfect, something is being chased! I can get the predator and the prey. A deer bursts onto the scene. I draw my bow and shoot in down. Next comes a large grey wolf. Nock, draw, shoot. Dead.

"Ew ew ew ew ew! Guh-ross!" Aphrodite squeals.

"What's gross?" I ask, grabbing the wolf by it's tail and tossing it into my game back.

"That!" Coral cries. I shrug, pick up the deer, and sling it over my shoulder. They shy away from me as I pass by.

"What?" I demand.

"Oh, nothing, just the dead body you have on your back!" Aphrodite hisses. I roll my eyes at them.

"You'll be glad to have it at dinner," I tell them. They wrinkle their noses and follow me back to the campsite. Everyone is busy. Apollo and Hestia are building a fire. Hephaestus and Ares are gathering wood. Perseus and Hercules are getting water. Dionysus is collecting berries. Athena is cleaning the dishes and silverware. Everything is exactly how it usually is, but it's missing the happy atmosphere that comes with Hermes. He's usually bouncing around, bothering everyone. But now he's not here. And I have a really, really, really sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

* * *

It's the middle of the night, and I'm not sure what's woken me up.

"Whazzgoinon?" Aphrodite asks sleepily.

"Something's wrong," I say, "something is really, really wrong."


	16. Chapter 16: Breaking Point

**Here is chapter 16! I would've gotten it up yesterday, but I was at my grandparents house and I couldn't get wifi. I pretty much cried all night. Please review, it makes me really really really really happy! I won't post the next chapter until I get two reviews (again, I'm probably lying). This is one of the most important chapters of the story. I hope you enjoy it!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: Please review every chapter, that would be amazing :D! I'm glad you liked it so much! Sorry to drive you insane, but it's here now!**

**ArtyMoonSon: Thank you so much! That made me smile like an idiot for, like, an hour. That was sooo nice of you to say! Sorry to keep you waiting!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. As it turns out, no one does. **

* * *

_**Hermes**_

I swing open the door and drop the empty mail bag on the floor in the kitchen. The room is empty, but I hear footsteps upstairs.

"Mom?" I call. I hear stomping, and she appears at the top of the stairs.

"I got your report card."

My blood turns to ice. I want so badly to run away, because I know what's going to happen. But I'm rooted to the spot. _Wow_, I think to myself, _fourteen years of fighting monsters, and it's your own mother that you're afraid of_. She storms down the stairs, grabs me by the wrist, and drags me to her bedroom.

It starts off just punching, which I can take. Then the beating, which I've gotten used to. But then she takes out a crowbar (how on Earth did she get that?) and starts whacking me. She doesn't stop until we hear a sickening crack from my left leg. I let out a cry of pain, and she smirks. Then she rolls me over, and I see she's got a knife.

HOLY F*CK SHE'S GOT A KNIFE.

"Mom...," I say nervously. She doesn't reply. I close my eyes, not believing that she's actually going to do it.

Then there's an explosion of pain in my side as the knife slides through my flesh.

* * *

I can't breathe. Every breath is excruciating pain. My left leg is throbbing. It's turned a disgusting bluish purple and it's grotesquely twisted. My mother stormed out ages ago, leaving me barely conscious on the floor of her bedroom. I know it's time to tell someone. It's time for this all to stop. But I can't breathe, I can't move.

I have to go.

Slowly, I drag myself to my feet and limp painfully across the room to the window. I boost myself up onto it, and stare out at the ocean and caves of Arcadia for what might very well be the last time. Then, lopsidedly, I flutter above the caves and start towards Zeus's palace. The slow pace is frustrating for me; I'm used to moving swiftly throughout Olympus. I have to stop every five or so minutes to catch my breath, and even then I can hardly breathe. Air comes in choppy, uneven, ragged gasps that tear at the wound in my side. But I hardly notice the physical pain. I'm numb with sadness. They'll take her away from me. I'll never see her again. And it was all my fault. She always had a reason to hurt me, I kept doing everything wrong. I'm worthless, useless, stupid, I'd heard it all. And I know it's all true.

The enormous palace comes into view. I'm almost there, and I still don't know if I want to be. But turning back is a path lined with flashing signs that read, "Pain!" "Torture!" "Death!". So I keep going. I press through the agony until I reach the door to the throne room, which is where our father spends most of his time. I raise my hand to knock, and am painfully aware of what I'm about to do. I can never go back to my home, if I do this. I'll never see my mother again.

I knock.

My father swings open the door, and his mouth falls open. I guess I must look pretty awful. My face bruised and bloodied, my left leg twisted gruesomely, my shirt soaked through with red. And suddenly I can't hold myself up anymore. My knees buckle out from under me, and he just manages to grab me before I crash to the ground. He drags me over to a bench (Hera has a weird bench obsession. They're all over the palace in the strangest places. It's kind of convenient, but I don't see why there has to be one in the bathtub) and sits me down. He's quite scary, standing above me with his arms crossed.

"What's going on?" He demands. That's a really good question. How am I supposed to explain this? Not that I could talk if I wanted to, I can hardly breathe.

"Mom...," I gasp.

"I'll find your mom. Just tell me what's going on," He says. I shake my head weakly.

"No...stabbed...Mom..."

"Maia got stabbed?"

"No...me...stabbed...Mom..."

"You stabbed your mom?!"

"Mom...stabbed...me..."

"Maia stabbed you?!" I nod, not meeting his eyes. "What about your leg? How did that happen?"

"Mom...crowbar..."

"What?!"

"Can't...breathe..." I clutch desperately at my side, trying to ignore the pain. I suck in a shaky, ragged breath before continuing. "My report card...Mom had a crowbar...and then she hit me and...she broke my leg and...stabbed..." I trail off. Dad stares at me in disbelief.

"So...so your mother did all of...this?" He asks. "How long has this been going on?"

"September."

"September?!" I nod weakly, tears pricking in my eyes. I hadn't realized just how long this has been happening until now. It's February, so that would be...I wish I could count. He sits down beside me, and I slump against him. He lifts up my shirt and gasps in horror. "Turn," He says. I don't want to. I don't want him to see the belt marks, the new ones or the old scars. "Hermes, please. You have to show me or I can't help you." I just don't know if I want to be helped. But I shift so he can see my back and try to block out his angry cry. "How dare she?! She'll pay for this, I swear to the gods. I'll have her head, and then I'll chop it up into a million tiny pieces-"

"Dad...don't...please," I mutter. He looks at me quizzically (hey, if a quiz is quizzical, then what is a test?).

"I would think you'd hate her," He muses. I shake my head.

"No...my fault...all of this," I explain.

"Your fault? How is it your fault?" He echoes.

"Stupid...worthless...lazy...always late for dinner," I mutter, by way of an explanation.

"She said that to you?" He demands. I nod.

"True...I was late...," I admit.

"None of that is true! Well, I don't know if you were late for dinner, I don't stalk you or anything, but the rest of it! None of it is true!" He tells me. I want to believe him so badly. It's been so long since I've felt loved. But he doesn't understand.

"Dad..."

"Yes?"

But I can't reply. Pain surges through me. I drop to the floor and squirm about, every motion aggravating the cut on my stomach and whiplashes on my back. My father's shouts for help are warped, all I can hear is a painful ringing. Everything is painful. I can't breathe. I can feel Theseus's hands around my throat, but they aren't there. I can feel the knife slipping into my skin, but there is no knife. I'm going crazy, crazy with pain and confusion.

And then there is only blackness.

_**Artemis**_

I twist my marshmallow on the stick, trying to interest myself in roasting it. But I can't shake that feeling that something awful is happening. Right now, and there's nothing I can do about it. And I feel sick, sick, sick.

"What's eating you?" Apollo asks, sitting down beside me.

"'What's eating you?'" I echo, "Seriously? Who says that anymore?"

"Fine. What's wrong? What's your problem? What's got your knickers in a twist?" I stare at him pointedly. "Seriously. What's up?"

"I don't know," I sigh.

"What do you mean, 'I don't know'?" He presses.

"That's just it, I don't know what's eating me. Something just feels...off," I explain.

"I get it," He says knowingly, "you're upset because your boyfriend isn't here!"

"I'm serious, Apollo. Something's wrong," I tell him.

"Lighten up! I'm sure everything's fine," He assures me. Suddenly, we hear and explosive crack of thunder. Lightning flashes across the sky.

"Of course, everything's fine," I repeat sarcastically. "Which is why our dear father is making a huge storm."

"So, maybe something is wrong. But I'm sure it's nothing too serious," He says.

"OH MY GODS! HOLY F*CK MY MARSHMALLOW'S ON FIRE! AAAAAAH!" Dionysus screams, running around with his flaming blob of sugar and gelatin. Professor Demeter chases after him, trying to put it out. He waves the stick wildy until the flames catch on a tent. Charites and Thalia run out, screaming. Apollo sighs and gets to his feet, assuring everyone that he's got this all under control. However, instead of putting it out, he successfully lights three more tents on fire.

"There goes my job," Deimos, who is in charge of the camping trip, sighs. Everyone's screaming and there's fire everywhere, but I can't do anything but laugh. This would only happen to us. I guess normal will never be an option for a school of gods, goddesses, nymphs, and heroes.

"Alright, everybody calm down!" Hestia shouts. The screaming stops, and we all turn to stare at her. "I've got this all under control." She balls her fists, then unclenches them. She repeats this process over and over, until the fire goes out, and we're all left to stare at the wreckage. Three tents are destroyed, the port-a-potty is a melted mess, and Dionysus's marshmallow is a lost cause.

"Well," Apollo finally says, "maybe you were right. Something is wrong." But I can't believe this would be the something that's had me on edge all day. No, it's something worse. The sick, knowing feeling is still knotted in the pit of my stomach. I shake my head.

"No," I reply, "this wasn't it."

* * *

The feeling still hasn't gone away by the next morning. The only difference is, I'm not the only one who feels it anymore. I'm standing in line for whatever slop is for breakfast, when Apollo and Ares walk up behind me. Joy to the world.

"You were right," Apollo says, "something's wrong."

"I told you so," I taunt, piling...what is this? Piling gross grey stuff onto my plate.

"We need to go home," Ares says firmly.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to care so much about something," I remark.

"Shut up," He replies. Funny how he doesn't deny it.

"I just woke up in to middle of the night with this kind of sick feeling," Apollo tells me.

"Yeah. Something just felt really...wrong," Ares adds.

"Wow. You really are a genius with words." I'm about to take my seat on a log bench, when suddenly, I feel a sharp twinge in my side. "Ow!" I cry, jerking sideways. My hands fly over, but I don't feel anything.

"Are you okay?" Apollo demands.

"Yeah," I reply, confused, "just a cramp. I think."

"Oh, is it your time of month?" Apollo teases.

"What? No! Gross!" I cry, giving him a half-hearted shove. To my surprise, he falls over, clutching his left leg. But he gets up almost as suddenly as he fell down.

"Weird," He mutters. Yes. This is definitely weird. Really, really, really weird. Like, weirder than aunt Hera's bench obsession. And that's saying something.

We have two days left on the trip, and I'm not sure if I can last them without knowing what's going on here. The twinge in my side has grown to a splitting pain. And Apollo is limping. _Two more days, _I tell myself, _two more days, then you're getting some answers._

* * *

"Whichever team can build a fire fastest wins. You're allowed to mess with other team's fires, but you can't use theirs to light yours. Got it?" Professor Deimos explains. We nod. I'm on a team with Athena, my brother, Coral, and Euphrosyne. "Ready? Set? Go!" Next to us, Hestia lights her fire immediately. She's about to notify Deimos, when suddenly, it goes out. She frowns, and lights it again. It goes out. She looks over at us, annoyed, and catches sight of my brother, who is wiggling his fingers ever so slightly and wreaking havoc on Hestia's fire.

"I'm getting better at this," He remarks. Suddenly, Euphrosyne's white beanie explodes.

"Oh," She says, not at all daunted, "that's OK. I have lots! Isn't that great?"

"Uh-huh," Athena groans, "sure is."

"You're great at this," I tell my brother sarcastically, gesturing to the charred remains of Euphrosyne's hat.

"Oh, like you could do better," He replies. I don't have a response for this, because honestly I couldn't. So I just turn back to our fire and try to help light it. I'm busily rubbing two sticks together (which is honestly the biggest waste of time on heaven or Earth), when suddenly the pain in my side returns, stronger than ever.

"Shit!" I squeal, doubling over and dropping my sticks. Luckily, no one seems to have noticed. Except Apollo, who limps heavily over to me with a worried expression.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I think. You?" I reply.

"Fine," He says. We're both a little unsettled. I'm not on my period, so I really have no reason to be having unexplained stomach cramps. And nothing's happened to him that I know about, so he shouldn't be limping.

What's going on?

* * *

"Can we tell ghost stories?" Thalia asks excitedly.

"No," Coral groans.

"Will you do my hair, Aphrodite?" Charites begs.

"No," Aphrodite replies. Since their tent burned down, we're stuck with them.

"Can I decorate your bow and arrows?" Thalia asks me. I look up at her, wide-eyed and forever happy, and think it would be mean to tell her no.

"Nothing pink, sparkly, or permanent," I instruct. She nods excitedly and sets to work with a newly-materialized craft set. I watch her for a moment, wondering why I let her. Then it hits me. She reminds me a lot of Hermes. Forever perky, although somewhat annoying. She's like a female version of him. Although, she'd never do anything wrong. She may be annoying, but she and the rest of the sixth grade perky parade are perfectly behaved. Hermes...not so much. I really do miss him, despite how annoying he can be. The camping trip isn't the same without him getting on everyone's last nerve. Generally, at least ten pranks have been played by now. The closest thing to a prank that's happened on this trip was Dionysus and Apollo burning down four tents. I sigh, thinking about how much I can't wait to get out of here and back home. I really need some answers, mostly regarding why I feel like I'm being stabbed. Something really weird is going on, and I don't like not knowing what it is. A huntress needs to be aware of everything. She can never be caught off guard.

I sigh again and roll over, closing my eyes and letting sleep engulf me.

* * *

This is the one, I would know this cave anywhere. Hopefully, when I leave, everything will be explained. I raise my hand and knock on the door. Seconds later, it swings open.

"Artemis!" Maia greets. She looks tired, with bags under her eyes and her hair disheveled.

"Hello, Maia. Do you know where Hermes is?" I ask politely. She stares at me blankly for a moment, then bursts into tears. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...what's going on?"

"I don't know!" She sobs, "I can't find him anywhere! I came home, and he was gone!" My eyes widen. I wasn't insane, something really was wrong. But there has to be more to it than this. "Will you find him?" She begs. "Please? And tell him I'm sorry?" I want to ask what she's sorry for, but it seems like it isn't my business. So instead I nod, bid her farewell, and continue on my journey. I'll go to the palace next. If anyone can explain this to me, Dad can. The palace is a fair walk, but it gives me a lot of time to think. Hermes is missing, and his mother wants me to tell him she's sorry. What has she done? What could she have done that was so horrible he'd run away? That doesn't sound like him. Then I remember him telling us that she's drunk a lot. So that's it? She's an alcoholic? So he ran away? That sounds a little ridiculous. If my mother was an alcoholic, I'd want to help her. I wouldn't just leave her. There must be more to this. She drinks a lot, he ran away, she wants me to tell him she's sorry, and...and...and he came into school a lot with black eyes and bruises. But how could that relate to any of this? The huge palace looms into view, and I knock on the door. Two guards open the heavy oak doors. I nod to them and walk into the entrance hall. It's empty. My footsteps echo off the marble walls. I glance around, then head over to the map. It shows a bird's-eye view of the palace, and dots showing you where you are and where anyone else in the palace is, not including servants and workers. My dot shows me in the entrance hall. Hera is in the dining hall. Zeus is in the West wing, which houses the hospital wing and the food storage area. I turn down a hallway and break into a run, curiosity and impatience getting the better of me. I race through the narrow corridors until I reach a fork. One path leads to the hospital wing, the other food storage. I can't imagine why he'd be in food storage, so I head for the hospital wing. I find him seated on a bench (seriously, why are there so many) outside one of the hospital rooms. I cross my arms and try to look as angry and menacing as possible. He raises an eyebrow at me, unperturbed.

"You have some explaining to do," I tell him.

"Oh? What about?" He replies. I explain what I've felt, the sick feeling that something was wrong and the stabbing feeling. And Apollo limping. To my surprise, he actually smiles. "It's a genius design, really. You're all linked. You're closest to Apollo, but you're also directly linked to Hermes. Apollo is too. Ares is very close to Apollo, so he's indirectly linked to Hermes. Make sense?" I shake my head. He sighs. "You three felt that something was wrong because of this link. I think I need to show you." He calls for a servant, and instructs her to retrieve "the web". I came here in search of an explanation. I'm more confused than ever. He's silent while we wait for the servant, which frustrates me. He certainly hasn't explained this enough. So I'm linked to Hermes, and Apollo is too. Ares is linked to Apollo. How does that explain the stabbing feeling? Or that sick feeling that something was wrong? The servant returns, and hands my father a crumpled paper. It shows a complex web, which I at first think is a family tree. But there's not nearly enough people on it, only us ten fourteen-year-olds. Slowly, I recognize it as Dad's "genius design". The closest tie on the map is Apollo and I, closely followed by Hermes and myself. Ares is linked to Apollo. Athena is linked to Ares and I, therefore making her indirectly linked to Apollo, and even more indirectly to Hermes. Hestia is linked to Athena and Persephone, who is linked to Aphrodite and distantly to Hermes. Aphrodite is linked distantly to Hephaestus, who is tightly connected to Dionysus, who is linked to Apollo. I'm fascinated, but I can't let him see that.

"How does this explain anything?" I huff angrily. He sighs, running a hand through his thinning hair.

"You were right, something very wrong has happened," He says, as if this is at all helpful.

"And?" I prompt.

"That stabbing feeling...well, remember how closely you and your brother are connected to Hermes?" I nod. Gods, why do none of his explanations make sense? "Hermes...his mother stabbed him. She's abusive. Has been since September." I nearly choke on my own breath. It all adds up. _"Tell him I'm sorry!"_...coming into school with bruises and black eyes...the blood on his sheets that wasn't red paint at all...the slapping noise I heard when I went to find my pajama top. Suddenly, I feel like I'm going to throw up. But I swallow the nausea and look back up at him.

"But what about Apollo?" I remind him, "And the limping?" He sighs again, which I think is mostly for dramatic effect.

"She broke his leg," Dad explains, "with a crowbar."

"How did she get a crowbar?!" I cry.

"Do I look like Jesus to you?" He snaps, "How should I know?"

"Dad," I say slowly, placing a hand on his arm, "Jesus hasn't been born yet." He rolls his eyes at me.

"Doesn't matter," He replies, "the point is: I have no idea how she got a crowbar."

"So she stabbed him and broke his leg?" I repeat, "And that's all?"

"That would be bad enough. No, she beat him pretty badly, too. And she's been doing it for a while," He tells me. Now I really, really, really want to barf. How could this happen? How could he not tell us? More importantly, how could we not realize? Some friends we are.

"Is he here?" I ask, "Can I see him?"

"He's right in there." Dad gestures to the door in front of us, "but he's probably asleep." I don't care. I just want to see him and know that everything's alright, which is definitely isn't. But I don't know if I can bear to see what she did to him.

"Can I come back later?" I ask, "With Apollo?"

"Whenever you want," He says, "within reason."

I leave the palace and run as fast as I can back to the house, not wanting to give myself time to think about this. It's times like these that I wish I had super-speed. But I'm fast enough anyway, and I get home without dwelling too much on it. I fling open the door and rush to Apollo's bedroom, throwing the door open and letting it hit the wall with a BANG. Well, it got his attention.

"Woah! Careful there. What's up?" He asks nonchalantly. And so I explain it all. About the map, and how we feel things that others we're linked to feel. And then I get to the abuse, and how those feelings relate to what's going on now. He's speechless when I finish.

"You're lying," He says finally, "please tell me you're lying." I shake my head solemnly.

"Nope," I reply. "That's the truth. The horrible, horrible truth."

* * *

Apollo and I go back to the palace the next morning. Dad isn't awake yet, or we can't find him in the huge palace. Not that we look very hard. In fact, we don't look at all. We go straight to the hospital wing. Problem is, I don't remember which room was his. So we go into each room looking for him, and end up walking in on a nymph giving birth. So that was...weird. We also find a man having surgery, which was not quite as weird but pretty close. I think I'm going to barf from all the blood and gore, but Apollo looks right at home. I really hope we find the right room soon, because I'm not sure how much more surgery and childbirth I can take.

"This one look familiar?" Apollo asks, jerking his head towards a door.

"They all look the same," I sigh, "it's worth a shot. But if there's a transplant going on in there, I'm blaming you." He rolls his eyes and shoves the door open. And there, staring at the ceiling like there's something incredibly interesting, is our best friend. I feel like I should have a million questions, but I really don't know what to say. Luckily, he notices us before I get a chance to say something stupid.

"Hi!" He greets us brightly. I wonder how how he manages to be so happy all the time.

"Hi," Apollo says, "how's it going?" Gods, what a stupid question. But I guess it's easiest for them to act like nothing has happened.

"Okay," Hermes replies nonchalantly, "there were all these weird people in here wearing white coats, and they gave me this weird medicine. I don't remember anything else." Apollo starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" I demand.

"They gave him laughing gas," He explains. "You know, loopy juice? The stuff that makes you kinda cray-cray?" He moves his finger in a circle by his ear.

"I had this dream that I was rolling around on the sidewalk chasing a block of cheese. Your face looks like a rainbow. The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out. Out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again," Hermes rambles. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand why the spider went back up the spout. You would think it would have learned it's lesson. I mean, it's just going to get washed again. And why does it live in a water spout anyway? That's a stupid place to live. I mean, come on. You've got to expect bad things if you live in a water spout. That brings me to my next point: If Goldilocks has such perfect hair and she's so pretty and wears nice clothes and everything, then can't she afford her own porridge? And why would she go to a bear's house for porridge? Bears don't eat porridge. It just doesn't happen. And why did Cinderella's shoe supposedly fit perfectly on her foot but no one elses? First of all, if it fit perfectly, it never would've fallen off in the first place. Clearly, it was too big. Second of all, there's got to be someone in the entire kingdom who wears the same size shoe. Seriously. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Is this real life? Where am I? Are we in heaven? Are we dead? Why is it so white in here? Do you like hopscotch? I don't like hopscotch. I don't see the point. You hop all the way across, just to hop back. You didn't get anywhere! Do you know the words to patty-cake? I never saw the fun in that. Or peek-a-boo. Just because you cover your face doesn't mean that I can't see you. What's the point of ping-pong even existing? I mean, just play tennis! And don't call it 'table tennis'. It's not table tennis, it's ping pong. If you want to call it some form of tennis, call it 'lazy people's tennis'. Why is your hair so yellow? You look like a highlighter. No offense. Did you die it that way? No one's hair is naturally the color of a lemon. Except lemons. But lemons don't have hair, do they? Maybe they do and it's too small to see. Peaches have hair. Did you know that? I tried to brush it once. It didn't work. I was upset. Do they have teeny tiny brushes made especially for peaches? They should. That would be fun. Why are there hospital gowns but not hospital shirts and pants? It's just awkward for boys. Seriously, hasn't civilization advanced enough for us to invent that? Look, a rainbow! See it? Wait, that's your face. That's funny. Do you paint your face like that? Once, I drew on the wall in my house. I got in trouble. I don't know why, I thought it looked nice. Plus I live in a cave, so it just washed away. I drew a smiley face, but it looked more like mashed potatoes. Someone once told me that everything I draw looks like a duck. I like ducks. Is this real life?" Despite myself, I feel the corners of my mouth turning up.

"I don't look like a highlighter," Apollo mutters irritably. Then he turns to me. "Do I?"

"We've all been thinking it for fourteen years now," I admit, "Hermes was just the first one to say it." He scowls at me.

"It's true," Hermes says, "you look like a highlighter. Or a lemon. Or...or...what else is yellow? A school bus. You look like a school bus."

" A school bus?" Apollo echoes.

"Sort of," I mutter. He slaps my arm.

"I think you're really gonna regret buying that hair-dye when you look back at old photos and think, 'Man, I looked like a taxi!'" Hermes says seriously. I burst out laughing.

"It's not dyed!" Apollo pouts, "It's always been this way!"

"Oh," Hermes replies, "that's a shame."

"I like it," Apollo mutters.

"Well, you know what they say, 'You have to learn to love yourself!'" I advise.

"Yeah," Hermes agrees, "and you really, really had to learn."

"I am not amused," Apollo snaps.

"Lighten up, he doesn't know what he's saying," I tell him, jerking my head towards Hermes, who is currently making airplane noises and flapping his arms like a bird.

"I've got a purple cast on my foot," Hermes tells us. "I don't know why it's purple, or how they got it to be that way. I came to the conclusion that there were these birds that peed purple Kool-Aid, and so they took the purple Kool-Aid-pee and died my cast purple."

"I'm sure that's exactly what happened," Apollo says. Hermes nods.

"Sounds reasonable," I remark.

"Listen, I'm a helicopter!" Hermes crys, making helicopter noises and flapping his arms. Everyone's happy now, but he can't live his life on laughing gas. What's going to happen when it wears off? I know what Apollo would say. "Look on the sunny side, always the sunny side, look on the sunny side of life! No need to complain when you're out in the rain, just look on the sunny side of life!" But I, for one, prefer not to pretend everything's alright.

Especially when it _definitely_ isn't.


	17. Chapter 17: Macey Malone

**Wow! Two chapters in one day! I got three great reviews, so I decided to post! Please keep reviewing! The faster you review, the faster I post (shameless bribery)! Feel free to ask questions, about the story, me, the meaning of life, anything. Also, I would like to point out the we had a few people who used to review every chapter, and now it appears we've lost them. Let us have a moment of silence for chipettejones10, Lyria, and wakashark. **

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**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: (Did I spell that right?) Yes, you spelled my name right! That was so nice of you to say! When I started writing it, the plan was originally for it to be published someday. But I have a looooong way to go before that! Thank you so much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Greek Mythology. And according to Yahoo!Answers, there is no single founder or leader of Hellenic Polytheism (the religion of the Ancient Greeks). So, I officially don't have to do this disclaimer! (Please don't be wrong Yahoo!Answers I don't want to be sued). Also, I'm introducing some original characters in this chapter, and I do own them. I also own Crystal and Coral. And all of the horses. So there. **

* * *

We go back to the palace the next day with everyone, although it's difficult to convince Hestia since she's currently not speaking to Ares. He claims that it wasn't his fault he had a secret relationship with Aphrodite, but how that makes any sense I'll never know. Aphrodite isn't speaking to him either because apparently he promised her he'd break up with Hestia ages ago and never did. And the rest of us just nod knowingly because we all expect this from Ares. Aphrodite agrees to go because she says she's not going to let Ares stop her from living her life, and Hestia finally agrees because it's a nice thing to do and Hermes needs us. So, at eight in the morning, nine young gods and goddesses are trying to make their way quietly down the hall to room 251. And, since it's us, we couldn't be louder if we tried. Although we're not talking, our footsteps and breathing seem ten times louder when everything is quiet.

"Is this the one?" Ares asks, his hand on the handle.

"Yup," I reply. Then he pushes the door open and we step inside. Hermes looks up when we enter, but his eyes no longer have that dazed, crazy look they held yesterday.

"Hi," He says quietly. He's a totally different person from yesterday's loopy, blabbering idiot that told Apollo he looked like a highlighter, a lemon, a school bus, and a taxi.

"Well," Ares breaks the silence, "this is awkward." And so it is. No one knows what to say to their suddenly depressed and quiet friend who's usually bouncing off the walls bothering everyone, because now he's in a hospital bed. It's quite funny how just your location can change everyone's mood. If this all was happening in one of our homes, we would probably feel much more comfortable. But since this is a hospital, everything is quiet and subdued.

"So," Hermes finally says, "I heard you guys pretty much burned down the campsite."

"It was his fault!" Apollo cries, pointing at Dionysus, "I just...helped."

"You did more damage than me," Dionysus points out. And slowly, things slip back into the way they always are. And that's the way it should be. We're best friends, and I fully believe we can get through anything together. There's this knowledge that something's wrong and it truly isn't the same, and Hermes flinches whenever voices get raised and overall just looks panicky, but it's as close as we're going to get. We fill him in on the camping trip happenings, about burning the tents down and all the drama with Ares and his two girlfriends (Hestia leaves the room, Ares runs out after her, and Aphrodite rolls her eyes and starts flirting with Dionysus [who just looks uncomfortable]). I tell him about waking up in the morning to find my bow covered in small fabric flowers and ribbon, and spending several hours removing it all. Then Apollo tells him what he said yesterday, none of which he remembers. But he admits to thinking Apollo looks like a human highlighter, as do the rest of us. Athena assures him that it suits him. There are several wolf-whistles, and her comment doesn't improve either of their moods in the long run. Then conversation turns to tryouts for sports, coming up in three weeks.

"I'm joining the knitting team," Dionysus announces. "It's a sport. It's very strenuous for your hand muscles."

"Competitive knitting?" Hephaestus scoffs. Dionysus gives him a friendly punch. "I'm doing weight-lifting."

"I'm not sure if I want to do soccer or basketball," I tell them.

"Soccer," Aphrodite advises, "the basketball uniforms are so much worse. Not that I would recommend doing a sport at all. A girl can never be sweaty." I roll my eyes at her.

"Apollo and I are doing track," Ares informs us.

"You're doing track?" Athena asks Apollo incredulously, "You do realize that involves running, right?"

"I needed to do a sport to complete eighth grade," He explains.

"I'm going to miss track tryouts," Hermes says, as if just realizing it (which he probably is, he's not the quickest to notice things).

"Well, yeah, but there's always next year!" I remind him.

"I guess. But high school track is a lot harder," He points out.

"Oh, please. You could run circles around any high-schooler," I argue. He doesn't reply. Of everything that's going on right now, being on crutches and having a broken leg might be the hardest for him. Everything that he loves; running, flying, horseback-riding, it all requires two feet. He lives to run, it's the one thing he can do the best. The one thing he knows he's good at. The thing no one taught him to do, he just knew. It's how I feel about archery, and I don't know what I'd do if someone took away my bow and arrows or broke my arm.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys." And with that one sentence, everything was awkward and uncomfortable again. No one knew what to say. But in a way, as well as making everything awkward, it let us know we couldn't continue to ignore the obvious. This had happened, and we were going to need to address it. And so out came the questions.

"When did she start...you know...?" Dionysus asks.

"Hitting me? After our first horse show," Hermes replies. He looks a bit uncomfortable, but a lot less than the rest of us, who shift awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" It slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. I know it's not the time to reprimand him, but part of me is angry. We could've helped him ages ago, before it got too dangerous. None of this would have happened.

"I...," He begins, but he doesn't seem to have an answer. He just stares at his hands. It takes me a good two minutes to realize that he isn't answering because he's struggling to breathe.

"Are you okay?" I demand.

"Yeah, I just...can't...breathe..." Chaos breaks out. We rush around the room trying to find something helpful, but even when Apollo tells us what to look for we can't find it. Ares suggests CPR, but none of us are certified to give it. Then some machine starts wildly beeping and we can't figure out which one it is, and the noise only adds to the cacophony of panic. It's decided that we should find help, and they all race out of the room in different directions, leaving Hermes and I alone. His face is turning red and he's making choking noises, neither of which can be good signs, although I wouldn't know.

"Come on, Hermes, in and out," I coax. "You can do it. In, out, in, out..." His hands clutch at his side, but no air is coming in or out. I'm no doctor, and I'm at a loss as to what to do. But I know that just watching is not an option. "Listen to me," I say firmly. "We've got a long way to go, this is only the beginning. I'm not going to let you die on me now. Listen to my voice. In, out, in, out, in, out..." That sharp, ragged intake of breath may well be the best noise I've ever heard. "That's it, keep going. In, out, in, out, in, out." Slowly, the color returns to his skin. I don't know if it would be a bad idea to block his airflows or something, but now seems like the right time. So I seat myself in front of him on his cot and press my lips against his. He winds his fingers through my hair and I wrap my arms around his neck, leaning forward. I forget everything that's happened and enjoy what we have now, and I'm just starting to relax, when the door clicks open and a tall man with dark hair and glasses in a white coat strides in.

"Oh," He says, "am I interrupting?" I spring off the bed, blushing furiously and shaking my head.

"Oh, no!" Hermes assures him.

"We were just...," I stammer.

"Playing rock, paper, scissors!" Hermes finishes.

"Rock, paper, scissors," I echo, "uh-huh."

"What a fascinating game," He rambles.

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating, and intellectually stimulating, and...and..."

"That's what she said!"

"Hermes!"

"What? You said it, so I figured I'd point it out." The doctor lowers his glasses and peers over them with an unimpressed expression.

"This has all been very fun, I'm sure, but I need to run some tests." He looks at me while he says this, and I realize he wants me to leave.

"Oh. Well, um, have fun! I guess I'll see you later!" I reply, stumbling over my own feet in my haste to leave the room. Well, I guess that was a pleasant/totally embarrassing way to end a started-off-horrible morning.

_**Hermes**_

The doctor turns his back to me, crossing to the counter and rustling some papers.

"She's pretty," He says.

"Yeah," I reply, "but she's just a friend."

"Ah," He says knowingly, "a very good friend, I see."

"Yeah, she's a very good friend," I blurt out. He raises his eyebrows and smirks, walking over to me with a clipboard in his hand. He holds it out in front of me.

"I just want to do a quick little test here. I want you to read the first sentence," He instructs.

"Um, I'm sorry, sir, but what does this have to do with anything?" I point out.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering," He explains. I want to ask, "Wondering what?" but something tells me I wouldn't understand. So I turn my attention to the clipboard and try to decipher the first sentence. Instantly, "Kate fed her bunnies" turns to a mosh-pit of letters.

"Um, ta...ka...Kate! Kate...um...leb? Uh...led? Fed! Kate fed-"

"That's alright, just move on to the next one." The next one doesn't look any easier. I'm sure it has some meaning, but all I see is "Rlpah pckis tetmaoos". I furrow my brow and stare at it intently, as if it's a treasure chest that will simply unlock if I look at it long enough. "Ralph picks tomatoes," The doctor explains, "try the last one." Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure "Anine leiks sptehtagi" doesn't mean anything. This reminds me a lot of the first time we were asked to have our lunchtime conversations in Portuguese if we wanted to have them at all. I knew some Portuguese, but most of my conversation with Apollo had consisted of, "Olá, como você está?" and, "Estou bem, e você?" Now that I'm fluent in over fourteen languages, Portuguese doesn't seem to be such a challenge. But on that day in kindergarten, it was the biggest obstacle I'd ever faced or would ever face, so it seemed. So Portuguese, or most other languages, arenn't so hard. English? Shoot me now. "It says, 'Annie likes spaghetti'," The doctor informs me. "If you'll excuse me, I need to file these results." Great. I just failed another test.

"Foda-se," _(F*ck this) _I mutter, still thinking in Portuguese . Who was he to come in here and start telling me that Ralph picked tomatoes and Annie liked spaghetti? _A highly qualified professional_, I think to myself. But anyways, why did he need to ask me that anyway? What do Ralph and Kate and Annie have to do with my situation? He didn't give me any explanation, and I got all the answers wrong. "Isso é ridículo! Eu deveria pelo menos saber do que estou sendo testado em! Como ele espera que eu obter as respostas certas se eu nem sabia o que eu estava fazendo?" _(This is ridiculous! I should at least know what I'm being tested on! How does he expect me to get the right answers even if I didn't even know what I was doing?) _Oh, sorry. Sometimes I start spewing other languages when I'm angry. Once I translated the entire Phineas and Ferb song into Esperanto:

Estas 104 tagoj de somero ferioj

Kaj lernejo venas kune nur por fini ĝin

Do la jara problemo por nia generacio

Estas trovi bonan manieron elspezi ĝin

Kiel eble ...

Konstrui raketo

Aŭ luktante kun mumio

Aŭ grimpi la Eiffel-Turo

Malkovrante iu kiu ne ekzistas (Hey!)

Aŭ doni simio duŝo

Surfing cunamoj

krei nanobots

Aŭ loki Frankenstein cerbo (Estas pli tie!)

Trovi dodo birdo

Pentrante kontinento

Aŭ alkonduko via fratino freneza (Phineas!)

Kiel vi povas vidi

Ekzistas tuta multe da taskoj por fari

Antaŭ lernejo komenciĝas ĉi aŭtuno (Venu Perry)

Do batos kun ni 'kaŭzi Phineas kaj Ferb

Ĉu gonna do ĉion

Do batos kun ni 'kaŭzi Phineas kaj Ferb estas

Gonna do ĉio!

(Mom! Phineas kaj Ferb faras titolo vico!)

_**Ares**_

There is this brief moment when the people in the hallway clear, and Hestia and I are left staring at eachother. Then she lowers her head and storms away, and I know that now is my chance. I'm fully aware that I shouldn't even have one. This is totally how the cliché story goes; the good girl falls in love with the bad boy and then he breaks her heart for the popular girl, and she can't believe she didn't listen to her friends when they said he was no good. But I chase after her anyway, pushing through throngs of people without bothering to excuse myself. I'm the god of war, I can do whatever I want. If the dweebs didn't move for me, than they deserve to be shoved out of the way.

"Hestia!" I cry, catching her attention just as she enters the lunchroom, "wait!" She whips around to face me, brown hair flying and slapping me in the face.

"A keni asnjë sjellje? Get këtë në kokën tuaj: ju theu zemrën time. Unë nuk jam vijnë tek ju," _(Do you have no manners? Get this in your head: you broke my heart. I'm not coming back to you)_She snaps. I furrow my brow.

"Huh?" She throws her finger behind her, pointing to a sign that's on each of the tables. It simply reads, "Albanian". I inwardly groan. Around the middle of the school year, they make us start speaking in different languages at the lunch table and during break. There's a lot of, "Si jeni?" being thrown around, because we haven't spoken Albanian in a while but everyone remembers how to say, "How are you?" Still, I speak enough of the language to know what Hestia said.

"Hestia, it didn't mean anything!" I argue.

"A e keni lexuar shenjë? Nuk anglisht! A doni një paraburgim?" _(Did you read the sign? No English! Do you want a detention?) _She demands, starting to walk away.

"Po, kam lexuar shenjë. Unë nuk jam i verbër. Tani, ju do të dëgjoni për mua?" _(Yes, I read the sign. I'm not blind. Now, will you listen to me?)_I reply, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around.

"Pse duhet unë? Asgjë nuk ju them do të ndryshojë gjërat!" _(Why should I? Nothing you say will change things!) _She replies. But she doesn't walk away this time, so I take that as progress.

"Dëgjoni mua," _(Listen to me.) _I beg. She sighs and looks at me impatiently, cuing me to continue. I hesitate, realizing I don't know how to say what I want to tell her in Albanian. So I lower my voice and switch back to English. "I'm not going to deny it; I had a relationship with Aphrodite. But I always loved you more, I swear on the river Styx! And I always will love you more."

I expect her to lower her eyes to the ground, take a deep breath, and say that we can take baby steps. Just like in the chick-flicks (that I don't watch). But she doesn't. Instead, she bursts into tears, and screams at me, "You dirty bastard! I loved you! I trusted you! How could you do this to me? To us? And your consolation for this is that you always loved me more? So you loved her, you just loved me more. OK, we're good."

"Really?"

"No! And what do you mean, 'I always will love you more'? That you're going to keep seeing two girls, but I'll always be your favorite?! No, thank you! I don't want to be your first place if there's going to be a second place!" She shouts. Professor Phobos walks up behind her.

"Ah, to be young, and to feel love's keen sting," He says knowingly.

"That's not even your quote!" Hestia cries. "Albus Dumbledore said that!"

"Well, whatever," Phobos tells her. "As much as I love listening to people fight, I'm going to have to ask that you do it in Albanian." Hestia crosses her arms and glares at me. I'm pretty sure this is the first time the shy, nice girl has gotten in trouble. "Alright?" Phobos asks. We nod, he smiles, and then he leaves. Thank the gods.

"Hestia," I say quietly, so Phobos and the other teachers can't hear me, "I promise, I'll never screw up again like this. I'm so sorry, this is the worst thing I've ever done and it'll never happen again-"

"You are such a self-centered asshole," She hisses. "One of our friends is in real, fatal danger, and all you can think about is how you fucked up your love life!"

Well, I guess she's right. I did fuck this up. I fucked this up really bad.

* * *

"...and don't forget, we have a buyer coming today to see Poker, so someone needs to get him ready to be shown," Crystal reminds us. We all groan. That's another thing we have to do. You'd think that being on the elite competition team would earn you some respect. Um, not the case.

"Hermes rides Poker," Apollo points out, "none of us can get him to do anything."

"Well," Crystal says, "Hermes isn't here, is he? You're going to need to learn to make him do things."

"Not it!" Apollo calls, closely followed by the rest of us.

"If you can't decide, I'll just choose," Crystal decides. "Dionysus, he's all yours. Make sure to loosen him up with some cross-overs before you jump him." Dionysus groans.

"But, Crystal, Poker is a nightmare. Dionysus will get killed," Hephaestus points out.

"I've got a lot to do today. You guys are going to have to figure this out," She sighs, walking out of the tack room.

"I'll ride him, if you want," Artemis suggests, tossing a tiny saddle up on to the top rack. It belongs to one of the younger junior riders, who all have personal grooms, fancy over-pampered ponies with glossy coats and manes, the most expensive equipment, and apparently no time to take care of any of it. So the work gets dumped either on us or the other juniors, the ones who don't have loaded parents, so they ride the school ponies and slave over the other junior's fancy equptment just for a free lesson. Speak of the devil, the door clicks open and in walks Summer. She's being tailed by Jamie, who's toting her saddle and hanging on her every word.

"...I'm telling you, Jamie, you've just got to put more time in. When your parents see how good you've gotten, they'll buy you Brownie. And then you can give him a more respectable name," She advises. _No_, I think, _she doesn't have to put more time in. She just has to have rich parents._

"I like his name," Jamie mutters.

"What's that?" Summer asks, flicking her hair smoothly off her shoulder.

"Oh, nothing. So, you really think if I get as good as you, Brownie can be all mine?" She gasps hopefully.

"Simple as that," Summer replies.

"Wow," Jamie sighs, "my own pony. Here, I'll clean your tack. And I'll feed Dancer and turn her out. Then Crystal will let me ride this Sunday!" Summer smirks but keeps her eyes trained on her perfectly manicured nails, then tosses her bridle to Jamie.

"Make sure to get under all the straps," She instructs, "it's never done right." And then she sashays out of the tack room. Jamie sighs and hangs Summer's bridle on a hook, grabbing a sponge and some saddle soap and setting to work. I almost pity her, so naïve to how devious people are. But I'm Ares, great god of war, and I don't pity anyone. Unlike Hestia, who is beside herself with anger. With a quick roll of her eyes, she storms out of the room after Summer. After exchanging a glance, we all rush to the door to hear what she says.

"You know fully well that Jamie's parents could never afford Brownie, no matter how good she gets. Besides, she's just as good as you, if not better," Hestia snaps. Summer's high, clear laugh rings out.

"Please. If Jamie could ride half as well as me, she wouldn't pine over Brownie. She'd have something far better. And why would I lie to her?" Summer asks innocently.

"Because you know she believes anything you say," Hestia replies.

"OK, but why would I lie to her if there's nothing in it for me?" Summer shoots back.

"Come off it, Summer. We all know that was just a dirty trick to get her to do your barn work," Hestia snaps.

"What are you going to do about it?" I can just see her inspecting her perfect pink nails and pointedly not meeting Hestia's rage-filled eyes.

"I don't think you want to know, but you're going to find out if you don't go back in there and clean your own tack. And let Jamie ride Dancer around the field," Hestia hisses. A few seconds later, a very triumphant-looking Hestia marches back into the tack room. Summer slinks along at her heels.

"Jamie, I'll finish my tack. Why don't you get a jumpstart on your practicing on Dancer? You can take her around the field," Summer says through gritted teeth. Jamie's face lights up.

"Really? Oh, thanks! I'll bring him in after and cool him out, I promise!" And with that, she zips out the door with Summer's fancy tack in hand. Summer gives a long, drawn-out sigh-that-turns-into-a-groan-at-the-end, picks up Jamie's forgotten sponge, and washes it out like it's the hardest thing she's ever done. Which it probably is.

"I can't believe I'm letting that little maggot ride my perfect pony!" She cries, "He'll probably come back covered in fleas and dirt and-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Summer. If you don't have anything better to do but complain, go muck your stall," Athena tells her, pointing at the door. Summer's eyes widen; she can't believe someone would ask her to clean her own stall. But Athena gives her a pointed look and jerks her head towards the door, and Summer stomps out.

"Someone better watch her," Persephone advises, "I don't think she even knows how to clean her own stall."

"We've got enough to do," Artemis sighs. "I'm going to go tack Poker. Prince, Bruno, Homer, Honey, Fife, Ellie, and Quicksilver still need to be exercised. Oh, yeah, and Bailey's stall is dirty, and the Junior A lesson is about to come in. We're going to need to cool out their horse's and put them away." We all groan.

"Well, we're never getting out of here," Hephaestus informs us. We never realized just how much Hermes does around the barn until we had to add it to our daily chores. But I guess everything goes ten times faster when you have super-speed. It takes him about two seconds to groom a horse, tack up, or clean a stall.

"I'll exercise Quicksilver," Apollo suggests.

"I can take Fife, and Hestia can ride Honey," Athena decides, putting away her newly cleaned saddle and pulling Fife's from the rack.

"I guess I'll ride Bruno," Hephaestus volunteers. No one really wants to ride Bruno, as he walks like he's dead, but Hephaestus doesn't mind slow too much.

"I'll ride Prince!" Dionysus says. In the next few minutes, it's decided that I'll ride Ellie, and Persephone will ride Homer. We'll take them for a fifteen minute ride through the jump field and do some low logs to get out their energy. Aphrodite will muck Bailey's stall, and we all need to be back and ready to help with the riders from Junior A in thirty minutes. Artemis justs needs to focus on staying on Poker.

Eleganz, or Ellie, as we call her around the barn, is very accurately named. She's a tall, elegant bay with a slender neck and a small, finely shaped head. She's a fabulous jumper and a dream to ride, but today I just want to go home. She takes the bit easily enough and knows not to mess with me while I'm tightening her girth, so tacking isn't an issue. I get her out to the field in good time and swing aboard easily. Ellie is tight and energetic beneath me, and she jigs impatiently while we wait for the others.

"Come on," I mutter impatiently, "where are they?" Ellie is ready to burst, she paws the ground and lifts her front feet a few inches of the ground. "Easy, girl," I coax, "I'm sure they're coming." Hephaestus and Bruno join us first, closely followed by Dionysus and Prince. Athena and Fife come next, then Apollo, who is struggling with a very nervous-looking Quicksilver ("Does he ever stand still?"). Hestia and Honey come next, but she's flanked by Homer and Persephone and pointedly avoiding my gaze. "So, should we just race around the edge of the field and then take them over some low logs in the middle?" I suggest, "Then we'll be back in time for Junior A."

"I'm not sure if racing is such a good idea," Apollo says, pulling slightly on the reins to keep Quicksilver in check. "Gods, how does Hermes do this? He's insane! That's a bush, Quicksilver, it's not going to eat you. Chill." Quicksilver throws his head up and snorts, prancing impatiently and side-stepping away from a nearby piece of shrubbery. It's odd to see Apollo struggling so much with a horse. Usually, he can get even the greenest, most stubborn of horses to prick its ears, pull up its knees, and jump like a pro. Quicksilver? Not so much. Which is shocking, because I once saw him complete a course perfectly on a mule. "Woah!" Apollo cries, as Quicksilver rears up and throws his front feet out. Ellie pricks her ears and watches the show with interest, but stands still and behaves. I pat her neck, making a mental note to slip her some extra food. Suddenly, the bush rustles. Quicksilver practically loses it; the combination of an unfamiliar rider and this terrifying bush driving him insane. I tighten my grip on Ellie's reins, fully expecting her to take off. We're all on edge as the bush rustles again. Ellie has torn her eyes off Quicksilver and is now curiously eying the bush. The bush shakes harder, harder, harder, and out pops...the teeniest bunny I've ever seen. Wow. Underwhelming. Apparently, not so for Quicksilver, who takes off like he's being chased by a chimera, not a tiny rabbit. I'd be screaming, but Apollo handles it well, slowly half-halting and bringing Quicksilver back to a walk. By an unspoken yet mutual decision, we canter over to him. "Maybe I should just turn him out for the night," Apollo decides. Quicksilver whirls his head around and bites at the girth, not used to having a saddle on.

"What time is it?" Hephaestus asks. Hestia looks at the tiny sundial she wears on her wrist.

"Five o'clock," She says, "fifteen minutes until Junior A gets out. Yeah, we should probably just turn them out. We want to have time to meet the crazy person interested in buying Poker." I am interested in what idiot would want that mess. Besides being a gorgeous, tall strawberry roan, he's got nothing going for him. So we ride back to the barn and untack, then wait in the lounge for Junior A. Artemis is still nowhere to be found, and I'm really curious to see if she's gotten Poker to move. So far, the only thing we've ever gotten him to do is exist. Well, exist, be, and occupy space. Yeah, those all pretty much mean the same thing...

Junior A comes in, and I help a panicky sixth grader untack Pablo, an irritable old school pony. She darts around the stall, too nervous to undo his girth for fear he'll bite her. She's scared to pick his feet, too, so I do that as well while she braids his forelock until it stands straight up like a unicorn horn. Which I'm sure he loves. Seriously, juniors need to learn to take care of their own ponies. She runs for her life as soon as Pablo's taken care of, but that's probably more because she's scared of me. I'm not complaining.

When we finish with Junior A, we head out to meet Poker's potential buyer.

HOLY FUCK SHE'S GORGEOUS.

She's tall, with long dark hair and pale blue eyes and skin. She's wearing a white polo and spotless breeches that are flattering in all the right places. Her tall boots are so shiny you can see your own reflection. She watches Poker with an uninterested expression, but I've learned that's a trick to get the lowest price. I walk over to her, remembering that I'm single and am now free to flirt.

"Hey," I say, deepening my voice and trying to sound as sexy as possible. She looks me over and wrinkles her nose. I realize I must be filthy, but most girls dig the bad-boy image. I guess Ms. Pristine-Riding-Equipment likes things clean. Doesn't matter, we can work through that.

"Who are you, the help?" She asks.

"No," I reply indignantly, "I'm part of the elite competition team! I just had some chores to do."

"At my old barn, the elite competition team had grooms. We didn't have to work around the barn," She informs me. Oh, so she's a little snob? That's OK. I guess I can go for that. She's still gorgeous.

"Caring for your horse is a big part of the bond," I inform her. She rolls her eyes.

"You don't need a bond to win," She replies, "and winning is all that matters." Hmm. I'm not sure if I love her attitude. But hey, she's competitive! That's good, right?

"Oh, yeah. I totally agree," I lie. "If you don't win, then where's the fun?" She rolls her eyes again.

"It isn't about fun-" She says the word like she's never heard anything worse- "it's about the trophies. The medals. The recognition."

"To each his- or her-own," I reply. I'm starting to cool on her. She's mean as a snake, which generally isn't so bad, but I've grown to like quiet, kind Hestia. Not this little bitch.

"So," She says, "what can this horse do?" I scratch the back of my head, not exactly sure what to tell her.

"Oh, well, he's something, that's for sure!" I reply. She scowls at me.

"I know that he's something," She hisses, "I can clearly see he's nice-looking. But what can he do?"

"Oh. Um, well, he exists. That's his strong point," I admit. She opens her mouth to say something, but Crystal rushes over before I can ruin our chances of selling Poker to Rich Bitch (see it rhymes).

"Why don't you just watch him? You'll see what he's capable of." Wow, she's really laying it on thick. We all know Crystal isn't this nice. But she's directed Snottie Hottie's attention to Poker and away from me, which I now think is a good thing. Artemis has got him cantering nicely around the ring, which in itself is a miracle. The other miracle is Ms. Snob (not as good as the others), who actually looks interested in the horse.

"If I were to buy him," She says, "would he show well? Would I compete with your elites?"

"Well, I can't tell you if he'd show well. He's fairly new, never been to a show before. And as for the competition team, I'd have to see you ride. What's your name again?"

"Macey," Rich Bitch says, "Macey Malone." Macey Malone? Never heard of her. If she loves winning so much, one would think she's won an A-Circuit show. And if she has, then I should know her name.

"Do you compete on the A-Circuit?" I ask.

"Of course!" She snaps hastily, in a way that makes me think she doesn't. But I don't press, because I want her to buy the horse and get out of here. Artemis takes Poker over a jump, and he pricks his ears and has perfect form. Macey raises her eyebrows in a pleased manner.

"Well, Macey, do you want to try him out?" Crystal suggests.

"That's alright, I've made my decision," Macey replies. Crystal sighs slightly. Generally, if a buyer doesn't want to try out a horse, they've already decided not to buy it.

"Well?" Crystal prompts.

"I want him," Macey says. Crystal smiles.

"Great! Come back to my office, we'll get all the papers sorted out..." Crystal starts to walk away, and Macey drops back to me.

"What's your name?" She asks.

"Ares," I reply, "god of war." She doesn't seem impressed.

"Are you single?" She asks. I glance over at Hestia, who is watching us intently.

"Yup."

"Good," She sighs, "I'm going to need some entertainment, if I'm going to be riding at this boring place."

********

WHAT?!


	18. Chapter 18: Peg-Leg The Pirate

**Here's chapter 17! I broke 40 reviews! Yay! If I get two more, I'll post the next chapter. I got four ****_awesome _****reviews, please keep reviewing!**

**Lyria: Glad you're still reading it! Yeah, these last few chapters were a bit depressing. And it gets worse before it gets better. Sorry! That's so cool that you like horses, too! I've been riding for nine years, but I've never really competed, so I'm just making this up. I don't think this is how a real horse show would be :D. That was ****_such _****a nice review! Thank you so so so so much! **

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: Yes, "kaufmanl" does stand for something. "Kaufman" is my last name, and "L" is the first letter of my first name. Does "M'n'Mzutarians 4ever" mean anything? Yeah, Hermesis a bit stupid, but that's explained in this chapter. He's actually pretty smart, he's just not...****_intelligent, _****you know what I mean? I guess that doesn't make any sense :). Like, he has the capacity to know things, he just doesn't. I'm glad you like Artemis. I had originally planned for her to be a bit haughty, but I have this thing where I just can't have a rude character and not hate them. And I didn't want to hate her. Thank you for such a nice review!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: Yeah, some of your reviews have been missing words. I was really confused reading your review, I thought you actually hated me :D. But then I got your other one, glad you don't hate me! Thanks for reviewing, and thanks for recommending this to ArtyMoonSon!**

**ArtyMoonSon: No, I do not speak Albanian or Portuguese. Most languages that are used in here (besides English) I got off Google Translate. The doctor had his reasons, and that is all explained in this chapter! A few of your reviews have been missing words, but I've been able to figure out what you're saying. Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it!**

**Disclaimer: ACCORDING TO YAHOO!ANSWERS, I DON'T NEED THIS ANYMORE!**

* * *

_**Hermes**_

"You're dyslexic."

I'm confused. I speak Spanish, Malaysian, Marathi, French, Portuguese, Esperanto, Catalan, Tamil, Welsh, Chinese, Japanese, Icelandic, Russian, German, Indonesian, Croatian, Urdu, Swahili, Afrikaans, Albanian, Filipino, Finnish, Estonian, Galician, and quite a few others, but _dyslexic_ is not a word I've heard in any of them.

"Huh?"

"It's a learning disorder."

"So you're speaking English?"

"What?"

"Nevermind. Continue."

"It's a common learning disorder that makes reading and writing difficult. It's different for everyone, so the treatment is different. Generally, people need to meet with a tutor. Others don't need tutors at all. The severity and symptoms vary. This was why I was having you read those sentences the other day."

"So that wasn't a test to see if I still knew how to curse in Portuguese? Because I do, if you were wondering."

"What?"

"Merda, bunda, foder, caralho-" The doctor snaps his fingers impatiently.

"Hermes! English," He orders. I fall silent. I can't translate that for him. The language was too...colorful. "Anyway, you should start meeting with your tutor as soon as you go back to school," He advises.

"When am I going back to school?" I ask.

"I don't know, right now. We've got a lot of wounds to treat," He tells me. My eyes drop to the floor. I know there's a lot. I felt each and every one of them. I try to be optimistic and not act upset, but it really is a lot to have dumped on you in one year. An abusive parent and a newfound learning disorder? Why me! I don't care so much about the learning disorder, I've never been good at reading so honestly this makes a lot of sense. But the rest is a lot to deal with. She's my mom, and I'm not even sure she knows that I'm here. I didn't tell her. I just left.

The doctor steps through the door and closes it, leaving me alone in the room. I've found that the best and only cure for boredom here is sleep, but I've also found that with sleep comes nightmares. It's a gamble, but I've got a lot on my mind that I don't want to think about. So I roll over and let sleep wrap its arms around me. Those arms can be comforting, rocking you into another world where everything is happy. And other times they squeeze you so hard you can't breathe, and push horrific images into your head.

* * *

_"Worthless-" smack, "-stupid-" smack, "-lazy-" smack, "-good-for-nothing-" smack, "-inconsiderate-" smack, "-excuse for a human being." Smack. I don't try pleading with her, I've learned it's no use. "You ungrateful little disgusting idiot. Next time you get a grade like that, don't even bother coming home!" Smack. She drives the belt relentlessly into my back, not hearing my screams of agony. Or maybe she is, she just doesn't care. She opens her mouth to say something, but it's not her voice that calls my name. Her lips are forming the word, but someone else's voice comes out. _

"Hermes!" I jolt awake. Someone is standing above me, but I don't pause long enough to see who it is. I just scramble to the other side of the bed, panicked.

"I'm sorry," I babble, "please don't hurt me, I'm sorry."

"Hermes, it's me." I look up at the speaker and realize it's Artemis. She's got a puzzled and slightly hurt expression on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just-can we go outside?" I've been cooked up in here for a week now, and I haven't even been allowed to get out of bed. I really need some air. Artemis looks around for a second, then raises her eyebrows at me.

"Are you allowed to?" She asks.

"No. But no one will notice! I promise. Please?" I beg. She looks around again, then nods reluctantly. I loop an arm over her shoulder and she helps me out of the hospital wing to the entrance hall, where we find the tapestry showing our family tree. If a person wanted to, he could stand here for hours and learn all the to-be and has-been drama. Who's going to have children with who? Who's had children with who? What did someone not tell you about? Who's that person? How did he get here? If a person didn't have the time or the patience, he could reach behind the tapestry and find a little knob. After a little bit of pulling, the knob would open a door that reveals a staircase leading to the roof. Let's just say I'm the second kind of person, so that's what we do. We make it to the roof unnoticed. She asks me what happened, and I tell her everything. From getting home and learning she'd found my report card, to dragging myself to the palace and collapsing on the floor. And then there's silence.

"You've probably heard that it's going to be OK a lot," She finally says, "and I don't want to seem like just another person who doesn't understand. I don't, really, but I'll try as hard as I can. It may seem like things will never be the same, but there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe things won't be the same, but they'll be better than this. It will make sense, if it's not perfect, I can promise you that. You'll get some answers. It'll all be explained. I promise, life won't seem so directionless anymore. It just might take a while."

"I know," I reply, "but I just don't know when it's all going to turn around."

"You know, I've felt kind of lost myself before," She tells me. "It wasn't as bad as this. But I remember I'd been at the mall, I'd gone by myself because I really didn't see the appeal in shopping with your friends. And while I'd been looking for some jeans, I saw Coral and the cheer team trying on shorts. I couldn't help but notice how much smaller theirs looked compared to mine. They were at least six sizes down. And it made me feel really fat. So, I figured the best way to fix this was to stop eating. And I did. I barely ate for several months. It didn't help at all. I wasn't getting sexy-skinny like them, I was getting gross-skinny. I looked sickly. And it was downgrading my physical ability. I was on the soccer team, and soccer was the most important thing ever, so it seemed. I was their star forward, I scored a goal in every game. And then, suddenly, I couldn't run half the field."

"So what happened?" I prompt.

"I told Apollo. And he helped me. I've learned that even if I'm not as skinny as Coral or Aphrodite, I'm not fat. I'm perfectly comfortable with my weight. It fits me," She finishes. I'm shocked. I'd always pictured Artemis as totally confident and happy, if a little snarky at times. I never thought of her as at all self-conscious.

"I love you just the way you are," I tell her, taking her hand and squeezing it. She smiles at me and presses her lips against mine.

"Sure took us a lot to get here," She remarks.

"I'll say!" I reply, "I had a not-so-secret crush on you for years!"

"I know," She giggles, "it was sad, really."

"It wasn't that obvious, was it?" I ask, practically begging her to lie.

"Hermes, when we were in fourth grade, you couldn't even form a sentence whenever I talked to you," She reminds me.

"OK, it was a little sad," I admit, "but only a little!" After that we're quiet again. But not the awkward, gay-baby-has-been-born kind of silence. It was nice. The air was cool and fresh compared to the stuffy hospital room, and the sky was dark and starry. I want so badly to leap into that sky and fly around, fingering the stars like I used to, back when nothing was complicated. But I know that I can't, and this is the next best option. Sitting on the roof of the place that I'm going to have to call home, with the girl I've loved since third grade. And I can't believe that someone like me, that blushing idiot drooling over his best friend's sister, has a girl like _her_ sitting beside him.

* * *

I hadn't thought that it would've gotten around. I hadn't imagined walking into school and being greeted by sympathetic, awkward smiles. I used to be really easy to talk to. I'm happiest surrounded by friends, laughing or making them laugh. Now, it's going to be a lot harder. People give me a wide berth, not wanting to scare me or something. They whisper about me behind my back ("His mom, yeah. Since September. She broke his leg, see?") like I can't hear them. I just want them to see that I want things to be the same! I don't want them to tell me they're sorry, or treat me extra-nicely, or speak to me in English at lunch when we're supposed to be speaking Welsh. It's not their fault, they don't need to apologize. I never minded when people teased me, and now that they're not, it's just awkward. And just because I missed a few weeks of school doesn't mean I don't remember how to speak Welsh. Dydw i ddim yn idiot. Well, maybe I am. But that's beside the point.

Then comes track. I don't know why I go, since I missed tryouts, but I come anyway and practice my bench-warming. The team has been established already; somehow Apollo made it, along with Ares, Perseus, Zelus, Enyo, Hercules, and Theseus, who didn't make the high school team. Still, he runs circles around the middle schoolers, which shows us just how much we're going to have to train to not make the team. We're going to have to be better than Theseus if we want to make it.

Today, they'll each run a lap around the track. Deimos, the coach, will time them and compare these times to those they get running the same course at the end of the season. They're setting their personal bests, which they will hopefully beat multiple times this year. Everything's going fine. Ares has set the best time so far and Apollo...well, he got all the way around the track without fainting, or dying, so that was good. So, it's all going well, until Theseus heads to the starting line. That's when Deimos turns to me and says, "Hermes, I'm sure you have some tips for Theseus." Why?! Why would he say that? Does he not understand how junior high works? This is the boy that almost strangled me in the hallway. I can't give him advice!

So I say, "Oh no, I'm sure he's doing fine." But that's not enough for Deimos.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure you have something to say?" He practically begs. He really doesn't know how to coach track; he's only doing it because no one else did. Well, at least now I know why I'm here. He wants me to help coach.

"Um, well, if you lengthen your stride and push off the balls of your feet, you'll go farther with less energy," I advise quietly.

"Did you hear that, Theseus?" Deimos asks. Theseus looks me over with raised eyebrows.

"No," He says in a poorly disguised mocking tone. Deimos looks at me pointedly.

"If you lengthen your stride and push off the balls of your feet, you'll go farther with less energy," I tell him, louder this time.

"Thanks," Theseus says sarcastically. Deimos glances around awkwardly, not really sure what to do. So he turns our attention back to the starting point and fires a blank. Theseus takes off, and I have to admit, he's fast. He's definitely got Ares beat. The rest of the team watches him intently, as if staring at him is the key to obtaining his speed. I watch him, too, wondering how he didn't make the high school team. Maybe they wanted him here to inspire the middle schoolers to try high school track? Although, if Theseus is going to be on the team, I don't know why any of us would want to.

Theseus finishes with a record time, earning shocked stares from the rest of the team. Deimos dismisses everyone, and Theseus walks over to me.

"Thanks for the advice, Peg-Leg," He tells me. I want to tell him that he's a high schooler on the middle school track team, but I don't. I just get up and start hobbling away. "Look at him go!" Theseus cheers, "The star of the middle school track team, pride and joy of the athletic department, can't even stick up for himself." Ignore him. He didn't even make the high school team, that's the only reason he's here. "...hobbling away, couldn't even beat a snail in a race..." Oh, gods, how far would I have to drop kick him to get him off a cliff? "This is sad, honestly..." I satisfy myself by picturing him hanging by his fingernails over a pot of boiling hot pee. "And to think: this is the person who was undefeated last year! Look at him go! Wow, he is fast. It's only taken him two minutes to get down off the bleachers!"

"Hey!" Apollo cries, "Leave him alone!"

"Oh, gods," I mutter, "this is just going from bad to worse."

"What are you going to do about it?" Theseus challenges.

"I'll...I'll...I bet you don't want to find out!" Apollo stammers.

"Oh, are you going to sing me a song?" Theseus mocks.

"Yeah. It's called 'Fuck You!'" Ares puts in. Well, there are a surplus of songs entitled "Fuck You". Theseus turns to me.

"Aren't you going to say something?" He taunts. "Or are you just going to let your friends stick up for you?" I don't say anything.

"You talk a big talk, for a ninth grader on a middle school team," Ares points out.

"You talk a big talk, for having the second best time," Theseus counters, "second to mine."

"You're not so fast!" Apollo tells him.

"Yeah! Hermes could run circles around you!" Ares adds.

"Please shut up," I mutter.

"Oh he could, could he?" Theseus challenges.

"Yeah, and he will," Apollo replies.

"Oh, gods," I sigh.

"Fine. Next week, ten o'clock. I'll meet you dweebs here." And with that, he's gone.

Shit.

* * *

I'm in the tack room, minding my own business and cleaning Summer's saddle, when a tall, pretty girl I've never seen before strides in. She has an above-it-all manner about her, and she looks irritated.

"Why did that little girl just hand me her saddle and walk away?" She demands. "She doesn't expect me to clean it!"

"Yeah, that's kind of how it works here, Macey," Ares sighs, placing another pristine, tiny dressage saddle on a rack. Macey? Who's Macey?

"Wait, your name is Macey?" I ask. She looks me over with a wrinkled nose.

"Yes," She says, as if I'm not worth her time. Then she turns to Ares. "What's the use in a crippled stable hand? It's not like he can do any work."

"I'm not a stable hand!" I cry, "I'm part of the team! I won Nationals last year!"

"You're part of the team?" She asks disbelievingly. "You must be the one I'm replacing."

"Replacing?" I echo.

"It's only temporary," Artemis assures me. "Crystal needs a full team, and you can't ride, for the time being."

"It won't be temporary for long," Macey says. "Once Crystal sees me ride, I'll be a permanent member of the team." Artemis rolls her eyes and gives me a look that clearly reads, Can you believe her?

"So, your name is Macey?" I scoff, "What's your middle name, 'Day Parade'?" Get it? "Macey's Day Parade"?

"Gee, never heard that one before," She groans, handing the tiny saddle that had her so enraged in the first place to me. "I've got better things to do than clean this," She tells me. "Whereas you clearly don't." I motion to the row of dirty saddles waiting to be cleaned. "Whatever. Clean it, OK?" Well, isn't she a bundle of joy? "I'm leaving," She announces.

"We care," Ares says sarcastically. She ignores him and struts out of the tack room, tossing her dark brown hair behind her.

"Who was that?" I ask incredulously.

"Macey Malone," Athena tells me, "Poker's new owner."

"Wow. I feel bad for Poker," I mutter.

"Tell me about it," Aphrodite groans. I pick up the saddle Macey left and start scrubbing at it. Layers of dirt come off with the sponge, and I wonder when the owner last cleaned this. Suddenly, we hear a truck pulling in. Dionysus turns white as a sheet.

"What's wrong?" Hephaestus asks.

"That's the vet. He's coming to see Grapevine," Dionysus explains.

"I'm sure he's fine," I lie. "Probably just a bit lame." Dionysus doesn't reply. The door clicks open.

"Who's horse am I here to see?" The vet, Dr. Abrams, asks.

"Mine," Dionysus says quietly.

"Well, let's get started, then," Dr. Abrams says. Dionysus follows him out of the tack room, closely followed by Hephaestus. After a short silence, Persephone asks, "Am I the only one that thinks they're gay for each other?"

"Dr. Abrams and Dionysus?!" Ares cries.

"What? No!" Persephone squeals.

"Dionysus and Grapevine?" I guess.

"No! Hephaestus and Dionysus," She explains.

"Totally. I thought they were out of the closet," Aphrodite admits.

"They're not, but everyone knows," Apollo says.

"So true. Hephaestus is always trying to flirt with me. It's super awkward," Coral tells us.

"When do you think they'll come out?" Hestia asks.

"Who knows?" Artemis replies.

"Well, Athena knows everything," I point out. We all turn to Athena, who's been surprisingly quiet.

"Athena? What do you think?" Apollo prompts.

"I think..." She begins, "I think we should break up."

_**Apollo**_

"What?" I ask, after a shocked moment of silence. In that one sentence, I could see my world crashing down. I love her, I really do. How could she just suddenly want to break up?

"Can I talk to you? Privately?" She asks. I nod, and follow her out of the tack room. She leads me into an empty stall and closes the door, locking me in. She's a smart one. I want nothing more than to run away from this moment and never return. "You took my virginity." She says simply. "I can never forgive you."

"What?!" I splutter, "It was your idea!"

"Well, it was your idea to go to that stupid party in the first place!" She reminds me.

"It certainly took you long enough to decide you didn't like it," I point out.

"I was drunk. I didn't know what was going on," She says.

"Well, thanks. I guess these last few months didn't mean anything," I snap.

"They did, just not anymore!" She cries, tears starting to race down her cheeks.

"Forget it," I sigh, wrenching open the door and hurrying out. I could register only one feeling: emptiness. She's gone, and I can't get her back. It's over. But something isn't adding up. It's been a month since we'd had sex. It hadn't been that big of a deal before, so why is she suddenly so upset about it? Then it hits me: she cheated. She must've cheated, that's the only reason for her to suddenly end it. She cheated, and she likes the other guy better. I can't imagine Athena cheating, but it's the only option that makes sense.

_**Hephaestus**_

I bring my hammer down heavily against the piece of metal, not really sure what I'm making but furiously intent upon making it.

"No," I grunt. "I'm-" bang "-not-" bang "-gay!" bang. Of course I'm not. Totally. Definitely. Straight. Heterosexual. Yup. Totally and completely straight, and totally and completely not in love with Dionysus. That is me in a nutshell.

Anyway, I had that dream again. BEFORE I TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT DREAM REMEMBER I AM TOTALLY STRAIGHT. Got it? Okay. So, in the dream, I asked Dionysus to the school dance instead of Coral. And we danced, and no one cared that we were two boys instead of a boy and a girl. I really liked it, too. That's what bugs me. I can't have liked it! I'M STRAIGHT! But it does sound nice. I've always had a special relationship with Dionysus. And I guess we all need someone with everything that's going down right now.

But anyway, back to the point. Which is that I'm not gay. I'm just...open to all options. Mainly male options-NO. FEMALE OPTIONS.

Not gay. I'm not. Nope.


	19. Chapter 19: Give Me Therapy

**Here's chapter 19! This is one of the most dramatic chapters in the story. Get ready! Please review! I haven't gotten around to leaving sneak peaks lately, but I can start that up again if you guys want. Just let me know! As soon as I get two reviews, I'll post the next chapter!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: Yes, Athena and Apollo broke up, Hermes and Artemis are dating, and Dionysus and Hephaestus are gay for each other. Macey is really annoying, but there's more to her than meets the eye. I can't give away too much, but I can promise you that you won't be expecting it (devilish grin). Thanks for another great review!**

**ArtyMoonSon: Apollo and Athena eventually get back together, but it's not in this story or the sequel. Sorry! Artemis and Hermes are still together, though. Dionysus and Hephaestus get together pretty soon, actually. That's one of my favorite parts of the book. It's ridiculous to me that gay people can't get married. Love is love, and law has no place in it. Dionysus and Hephaestus wholeheartedly agree.**

**Disclaimer: The only thing I have to disclaim is the title of this chapter. It's based off the song "Therapy" by All Time Low. Great song, you should check it out!**

* * *

_**Hermes**_

I'm a horrible person. I am. I suck.

And I have a little explaining to do, if you're reading this.

I saw her. My mom. I was walking back from school, and I saw her running through the street, knocking on doors and asking the inhabitants if they knew where I was. She was hysterical; her hair a mess and tears streaming down her face. She was wearing the same outfit she'd been wearing when she stabbed me. I don't think she's slept, showered, or changed since I left. She's a wreck, and it's all my fault.

Worse yet, I can't do anything about it. They won't let me leave; I'm not even going to try asking Dad. I know Artemis said it will all make sense someday, but it sure is taking a long time! I just don't understand why this is happening. Everything was OK, up until this year. She never hit me, never so much as tapped me too hard. And then it all went downhill. It's my fault.

I caused all this pain, all this sadness and fear and worry and it's all because of me. I don't even deserve to live.

There's a very big misconception about the whole "immortality" thing. We are immortal in that we will always live. But we are not immortal in that we will never die. If I were to be eaten by something, I would be re-born the next day, my memory wiped of all that's ever happened to me. In other words, I would forget all of this. I'd get to start over.

I start towards the tapestry in the entrance hall. There, I'll turn the knob and go up the stairs to the roof. And then I'll jump. And everything will be alright.

A few minutes later, I'm standing on the edge of the roof, about to make the biggest decision of my life. The wind is blowing in my face, and I know the right answer. Jump. Jump now, and fix everything. The sky is my home, it's always been the one place that I was free. So I could stay here, slow and earthbound. Or I could jump, and return to the sky that I've called home all my life.

I jump.

Someone screams.

It all goes black.

But I am alive. How am I still alive?

* * *

When I wake up, I'm in a white room. I'm still fourteen, not a baby, which means I didn't succeed in killing myself. The room is empty, save for the heart monitor attached to me, and the bed. The walls are padded and the door is locked. I'm trapped. I'm also...wet? I'm wet and I smell like the lake in the palace gardens...oh. I must've landed in the lake, thus breaking my fall and not killing me, the impact merely knocking me out. Whoever screamed probably grabbed me before I drowned (super sleuth skills, right here). The padded door opens, and a blonde woman in a white coat walks in. She's wearing a rainbow headband, rainbow earrings, and a rainbow necklace. I know who this is. Iris is my therapist?

"Hermes," She greets me. She wears that same dreamy expression as always, and part of me wonders how she's certified to be a therapist. "Artemis brought you here. She said she found you in the lake, and you jumped off the roof."

I don't know how to reply, so I say, "I know."

She says, "Do you want to tell me why?"

"No," I reply. She smiles warmly at me.

"I want to help you," She says, "so, whenever you're ready to be helped, go ahead." I don't think I'm ready to be helped, so I stare at her for a moment. She stares back. I stare at her for another moment. She stares back. At that point, I don't think I can take any more staring, so I start talking.

"There's just so much pain, and I don't know how to _not_ think it's my fault, because it is and I just want to start over!" I babble. She watches me and nods. "Everyone's worried about me, and my mom doesn't know where I am, and my dad thinks I'm mentally unstable-which I suppose I am, since I jumped off a building, but that's beside the point! I just don't want to make people upset, and everyone is! And it's all because of me. And my mom started hitting me, and I don't know why! Plus, now I have this learning disorder to deal with. So now everyone gives me these looks, like they know I'm different when I just want things to be the same!"

"So, you jumped off a building?" She finishes.

"Precisely." She never stops smiling, never takes her eyes off me. And I guess this is what I need. Someone who isn't going to tell me it's OK, or try to make things OK, or treat me differently, or stare at me. Someone who knows my story, but doesn't think I'm just another tragedy. Someone who thinks there can be a happy ending, and who'll help me get there, but for now she'll just listen. And I really need that. I need someone to listen.

"Given the chance right now, would you jump off a building again?" What a weird question. I honestly don't know the answer. Would I? I guess there are a lot of reasons not to. But there are so many more reasons to jump. Everyone's upset over me, Dad is scared of me, I'm pretty sure Artemis is furious with me, everything is falling apart. And I'm at the center of it all; the source.

"Yes." I imagine what she's thinking: _Gods, here's another one. Blabbering on about all the pain in the world, and how life is so terrible, blah blah blah. I've heard it all._ I must look like such a nutcase to her. Then again, I am. I'm a total nutcase. I tried to kill myself, I lived in a cave, I wear wings on my head, can you get any weirder? But it all makes sense to me. Of course I tried to kill myself. What else could I do? Of course I lived in a cave. I've never lived anywhere else! That's home. I've never thought about the fact that it's a cave. Of course I wear wings on my head. I always have. I need them to fly, and that's part of my job. But to any random person, I belong in a mental hospital.

Oh, wait. I am in a mental hospital.

"Hermes, from what I've observed, you go through times when you're perfectly happy. Other times, such as last night, you're depressed, which can lead to suicide attempts. I'm fairly certain you have bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression." She presses a bottle into my hand. "This is Carbamazepine." I glance at the bottle, and then back up at her.

"And?" I prompt.

"You're supposed to take one," She instructs.

"Oh." I pop the bottle open, take out one of the pills, and swallow it. She nods, pleased.

"I'll see you tomorrow," She tells me. Before she leaves, she hands me a piece of paper. It's covered in words, but I can't read them, which doesn't help my mood. "Anything you want to know about bipolar disorder is in that paper," She tells me. I feel like I should tell her I can't read it, but I really don't want to. In a world where everyone knows my sob-story, it's nice to have a chapter that only I've read. Not that it's a good chapter, but still, it's private. "You have a visitor," Iris tells me. _Please don't be Artemis_, I think to myself frantically, _please don't be Artemis, please don't be Artemis, please don't be-_

"What were you thinking?!" Artemis shrieks. I sigh, not meeting her gaze. "What on Earth would possess you to jump off a building? Oh my gods, Hermes, I was terrified. I was just coming to see how you were doing, and I see you plummeting towards the ground!"

"Artemis, I'm OK," I tell her.

"Stop telling me you're OK! You jumped off a building! Clearly, you're not OK," She cries.

"Please stop yelling," I mutter. She opens her mouth to say something, then closes it and takes a deep breath. I've seen her do this before, it's her way of cooling off. She doesn't have the best temper.

"I'm sorry," She sighs. "I just was really worried. I thought you'd died!"

"I'm alive, see?" I reply. She smiles slightly.

"Only you could jump off a building and live to tell the tale," She says. We're quiet for a moment, and she sits down beside me and smiles. And just like that, everything seems a lot less bleak. Never underestimate the power of smiling. My whole life had been torn to pieces because everyone was upset over me, and I don't like people to be upset. Now that she's smiling at me, things seem a lot less sad. She smiled because I'm OK, which means that for once, I made someone happy. So, do me a favor. Drop this, stop reading, and go smile at someone. Just walk up, and smile. Don't say anything. They'll think you're deranged, but in the long run, you'll have made their day. Go. Now. Still here? OK, well, I didn't think that would work anyway. Jeez, you're heartless. Couldn't even do a favor for the kid in a mental hospital! Wait, I'm a fictional character. THAT'S OK. GO SMILE. SMILE AWAY! Right, well, this hasn't worked. On with the story, then...

"I love you," I tell her. She leans in closer and says, "I love you too," before pressing her lips against mine.

"Do you want to go outside?" She asks.

"Sure," I reply. She hands me my crutches, and we sneak out the door. As we make our way down the hall, she fills me in on the drama. How she's fairly certain Ares slept with Athena because he's heartbroken over Hestia, and how Hestia still hasn't forgiven him. She tells me that, although she's obnoxious, Macey Malone is amazing at cross country, and how she has a blatantly obvious crush on Ares. Naturally, Hestia hates her. Artemis thinks Hestia still loves Ares but she can't forgive him for what he did, and all I can think is, deep down, Artemis really _is_ a girl.

We go to the gardens and lie down in the grass, watching the clouds and arguing over what they look like. It's very clearly a bow-tie. How could it be a bunny? She's insane.

"How does that look like a bowtie? Can't you see the ears?" She demands.

"What ears? That's part of the bowtie. Idiot," I reply.

"Right, I'm the idiot," She scoffs.

"Mean," I pout.

"Oh, come on. I'm just saying, it's obviously a bu-" I shove my hand in front of her mouth before she can continue.

"Bowtie!" I shout. "Bowtie, bowtie, bowtie!" She wriggles free of my hand and says, "Bunny."

"No," I reply, "you are just a horrible cloud-watcher." She rolls her eyes.

"Right, because cloud-watching is something I really worry about doing well," She says sarcastically.

"You should," I tell her, "it looks good on a college application." She laughs.

"You are such an idiot," She says. But it's not in the mean way, it's in the you-really-are-an-idiot-but-I-love-you-for-it kind of way. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. I wind my fingers through her hair, and there we are, kissing on the lawn of the palace garden. It seems a little weird, since I was just in a mental hospital and recently jumped off the roof above us, but to us it's perfect.

"...And here is the front lawn, great for playing games with-oh my!" Perfect until Professor Demeter walks in, giving a tour to a possible student. Dorms for those who attend MOJH but don't have homes on Olympus are in the East wing of the palace. Just our luck that Demeter would be showing the gardens right now. Artemis and I leap to our feet-well, she does, I hop onto one foot and prop myself on my crutches- and dust ourselves off, smiling at the student and her father. Well, we smile until we realize who the student is.

"Macey?!" We both cry at the same time.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Fairy Feet and Arty," She says smoothly. Artemis balls her fists and glares. She hates being called "Arty". Macey must've picked up on that fast. "Daddy, these are two of my friends from riding. They're on the elite competition team, too!" Macey's dad smiles awkwardly at us.

"What a pleasure to meet you," He says icily. Then he turns to Demeter. "A word," He says sharply. She nods. "Play nice, Macey, dear." Macey smiles sweetly at him, and he and Demeter disappear behind some perfectly trimmed shrubbery.

"What a mismatched couple," Macey muses. "The cold-hearted huntress who swore never to love a man, and Peg-Leg the pirate who couldn't do anything but run, and now he can't even do that."

"I'd rather be cold-hearted than a friendless bitch," Artemis snaps.

"Um, yeah. What she said," I mutter.

"I'll have you know that I've been homeschooled my entire life, so I've never had a chance to make friends. And if you two making out ruins my chances of going to MOJH, I will ruin your lives," Macey hisses, stepping closer to the bush her father and my algebra teacher are conversing behind and pressing her ear against it. Artemis and I follow suit.

"Let's not beat around the bush, Demeter. We both know my daughter is beautiful and very, for lack of a better word, developed. If she's going to be assaulted by drooling, horny, pubescent boys everyday then I'll go right back to our home and continue to homeschool her," Macey's father says. Macey glares at us.

"Sir, I would like to notify you that we are not on school grounds. This is the palace gardens, students operate under a different set of rules here. But I can assure you that any, um, overly romantic behavior is strictly prohibited," Demeter tells him. I roll my eyes. Students have made out in the halls countless times before. This new rule will probably be put in place solely for Macey Malone.

"I should hope so. The only reason I'm even considering this is for my dear Macey. She wanted to come here so badly. If it were up to me, she'd be at home, learning that the Earth is indeed round, not flat. You're on very thin ice, Demeter," He informs her.

"I can assure you, all the information we teach our students is 100% accurate. We would never tell them that the Earth is flat if we had any evidence that it isn't," Demeter assures him.

"Actually," I whisper, "it is round." I've seen the Earth curve in the distance when I've been flying particularly high.

"It is not," Macey hisses, "that's just my father's crazy theory." It's funny how she says things, so that no matter what she's saying, it still sounds mean. I've had perfectly friendly debates about the shape of the Earth (although Apollo did most of the talking, he's seen the Earth curve from the sun chariot), but this little chat with Macey definitely isn't perfectly friendly.

"Whatever you say, your highness," I reply sarcastically. She makes a face at me.

"I'm so done with this," Macey decides. We watch her as she steps around the bush and says, "Daddy, can we go now?" I can picture her with her hands clasped behind her back, batting her eyelashes and smiling at him. Rich girls can get their fathers to do anything. Sure enough, he replies, "Of course, darling. Why don't we go on ahead to the dining hall?"

"Right this way," Demeter instructs, and with one last glare, Macey Malone, my algebra teacher, and Mr. Malone are gone.

"Well," Artemis says, "That was...I'm not gonna lie, I often have dreams about killing her." I don't know Macey Malone well enough to dream about killing her, but if I had practice with her after school everyday, I probably would.

"Well, she certainly knows how to get what she wants," I remark. Since I did end up cleaning that saddle she dumped on me at practice, I would know.

"I'm so done with this," Artemis mocks. "Let's go for a walk in the woods. Macey Malones are urban creatures that don't like anything dirty. She won't bug us there." I follow her into the forest \and we walk in silence, our eyes scouring the woods we grew up playing in.

"There," I say suddenly, pointing to a tree that still has a slight dent and a small blood stain, "I broke my nose there. Ran right into the tree. That was the day I realized I had super speed." Artemis laughs.

"Do you remember when we were sitting in one of these trees, and Apollo just caught on fire?" Artemis reminds me. Yes, I do remember that. The tree caught on fire with him, along with half of the forest. And me. These woods hold so many memories, and they've never changed. One of them still has a deep dent from when Hephaestus discovered his super-strength and was simply trying to lean on it. Another one is slightly charred from Hestia's encounter with her own fire powers, although she didn't burn down the entire forest and her best friend. I know these woods almost as well as I know the school's secret passageways, or the quickest way to slip unnoticed through the palace kitchens and get the most food as possible, yet Artemis knows them better. She hunts here almost every night, and it's almost creepy how silent and sure-footed she is on the uneven ground. Suddenly, she grabs me by the hand and pulls me around a large tree. I've never been past it; Dad used to tell us the this tree was home to many monsters. Which it is, Ares found that out when he was trying to show off. But, they're just not the type of monsters we're used to encountering. When eight-year-old Ares climbed this tree, he came out absolutely covered in bee-stings. I've never laughed so hard in my life. Still, I never went near that tree again. So I've never seen the beautiful clearing that Artemis has led me to. The fading sun gives the whole place an orangey glow, and it reflects off the stream, so it looks like gold instead of simply water. The earth is warm beneath our feet, and the flowers around us give the place a perfect atmosphere.

"This is my favorite place to come while I'm hunting," Artemis tells me. She points to one of the trees and says, "That's where I met Orion." She points to the neighboring tree, "that's where I killed him."

"Oh," I say, "that's nice." She laughs lays down on the ground, so I lay beside her. Apollo and the sun have fully set, and the sky is moonless for reasons only Artemis and I (and possibly Macey Malone, who just saw us and knows Artemis isn't in the moon chariot) know.

"Those stars are the seven sisters," Artemis points out, "I turned them into stars on the day I met Orion." As she speaks, a new constellation appears in the sky. Artemis sighs. "And there's Orion." Sure enough, the stars take the shape of the douchebag Artemis called her friend and then killed. NOBODY MISSES HIM. HE WAS A POO-FACE. Artemis gets to her feet and starts towards one of the trees. "I'm making a resolution to climb all of the trees in this forest before I graduate high school." She explains. I get up and hobble over to her.

"Then you should probably climb this one," I advise. She pulls herself into the tree and hoists me up, and we sit there for a while. She's alive here, this is her world. She loves it like I love the sky, but she's never known the feeling of it being torn from her. She tells me all her stories, about discovering families of deer every spring and shooting down wolves in the icy Winter. I listen to her like I used to listen to my father as he wove tales of the Titan war. Only 50% of them were true, but I would sit, starry-eyed, with the other children and think, _someday, I'll be as good as Dad_. Now I sit here and listen as Artemis tells me tales of her endeavors in these very woods, and it all seems so real. I can see her finding a lone bear cub while picking berries, and helping it find its way back to its den . I can see her heroically killing a wolf as it chases a deer to its death. But most of all, I can see her right now, and she is so beautiful. I have to periodically remind myself that this is happening, and it's not a dream. But in a way, we are a dream. We are the pinicle of happiness, something that, I've learned, is very hard to find. But dreams are always happy. It's the nightmares you must run from, and nightmares are based off of real life. Sometimes I wonder why I run from everything, when I've spent my life learning to fight everything and anything that comes my way. I could probably flip Artemis over my shoulder and onto the ground right now if I wanted to; she's light and she wouldn't be expecting it. But I never drop-kicked my mom or popped her shoulder right out of the socket by twisting her arms behind her back. It's the least scary things that bite, and it seems wrong to bite them back. "Bet you I can climb higher than you!" Artemis challenges, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I bet you can too," I reply. She laughs and starts to pull herself up the tree. I watch from my low bough, remembering the last time we were in a tree. A dragon set it on fire and then poisoned me shortly after knocking out her brother. Hopefully, that won't happen this time. She climbs onto the top branch and perches there, smiling at me. It's then that I notice just how gorgeous she is, silhouetted against the moonless night sky. But the moon is right here, in front of me, and she glows brighter than she ever has in the chariot. Her smile is radiant; I've never seen her so simply happy. Her hair blows back slightly in the wind, and I find myself stumbling up the tree to reach her. She laughs each time I almost fall, a clear laugh almost as pretty as her. I sit down beside her, and we stare at eachother. And then she starts laughing, and I laugh too. I can't believe how perfect it is, or that just last night I attempted suicide. We laugh because it's so perfect, right out of a movie.

"Sometimes, I want a normal life," She muses. "Most of the time, I don't." And with that, she presses her lips against mine, We melt into each other (but not literally, cause...that would be weird), our arms entwined. My life is a mess that I know I'll have to sort out someday, but right now I don't have the time. I'm busy enjoying, which is something I haven't done enough of. Then she breaks away and looks me right in the eye. I could say something in over 20 languages, but I don't know what.

"Promise me you'll never jump again," She says. I can't promise her that.

But I can promise her this: "Not if I can't fly."

And so things get better.


	20. Chapter 20: Going Home

**Here's chapter 20! I got three reviews, and I'm currently 5 away from fifty! If I get two more, I'll post the next chapter. A few people told me I post really fast, and that's actually because the story is finished. I'm done writing it, I just haven't posted the whole thing yet, since it's so long. It's a total of 252 pages, including the sneak peak of the sequel, which I'm currently writing the last chapter to. I like to have it done so I can post it ASAP. Please review!**

**ArtyMoonSon: I feel like we would be really good friends if we'd met in real life. Thanks for another nice review! I'm so glad you like it!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: Hmmm...you're not exactly going to ****_like _****Macey, but...well, you'll see. It's super cool. As for Apollo and Athena, there is not a separate story about them. However, they may get back together in the third or fourth installment of this series, neither of which I have written yet. They ****_will _****get back together, though. That's all I can say. **

**Guest: I'm glad you like it! I've written a lot of light-hearted stories in the past, and I thought it was time to challenge myself with more mature content. I really like how it's turned out! If any of you have ever felt anything like what Hermes is feeling, abuse or depression, I know I'm just some random person on the internet, but feel free to talk to me about it. I've never experienced it, but I genuinely care about everyone who reads this story. As for teen pregnancy, sorry to disappoint, but there is none. I thought about having Athena be pregnant with Apollo's child, but it was too late in the story to bring in another storyline. Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I AIN'T DISCLAIMING NOTHIN'! WOOHOO!**

* * *

_**Artemis**_

I'm standing at the shooting range, my bow drawn, when a pair of hands cover my eyes and blind me. I don't even think before grabbing the hands and twisting them over their owner's head, flipping him to the ground. There's this moment where I think, I am so good, until I see Apollo lying on the ground.

"Sheesh," He says, "if you hate it that much, you don't have to guess who." Despite myself, I laugh.

"You will get your comeuppance," He warns, still on the ground. I'm about to say, "Sure I will," when his leg swings neatly beneath me, sweeping my feet out from under me. I join him on the ground. "I win!" He cheers. Mr. Oaks, who is supervises the athletic center after school, walks over.

"Alright, save that for PE," He instructs. Our PE is very different from gym. Gym class is like a mortal PE class. Our "PE" stands for "Protection and Enforcement", and it's where we learned to do what we just did. Mr. Oaks is pretty brave to approach to lethal archers and tell them what to do, considering not only am I armed, but both my brother and I could kill him twelve different ways with our bare hands. Apollo props himself up on his elbows and gives Mr. Oaks his puppy-eyes.

"She's my sister," Apollo says, "it's my job to bother her."

"Don't give me the puppy-face," Mr. Oaks replies, "Yesterday I saw you pop someone's arm out of the socket. The cutesy stuff doesn't work anymore."

"Darn. But that was pretty cool, right?" Apollo replies.

"Pretty painful, more like," Coral says, sauntering over. I roll my eyes, but secretly I'm replaying the look of horror on Coral's face when Apollo ducked her roundhouse kick, and she knew it was over. Also, the pain on her obnoxiously perfect features and the satisfying pop sound her arm made when it came out.

"Shouldn't have fought if you can't win," Apollo tells her. She laughs and flicks her hair over her shoulder, smiling flirtatiously. I cross my arms angrily. Oh no, Coral is not flirting with my brother. Mr. Oaks gives Apollo a knowing glance, then strolls off.

"Hi, Artemis," Coral greets me sweetly, "how's Hermes?"

"Oh, he jumped off a building," I inform her nonchalantly.

"What?!" She cries.

"Yeah, you didn't hear? He's manic depressed. And I think we all have bigger problems than your current lack of a boyfriend, so leave my brother alone and go lift your skirt for someone else, kay?" I hiss.

"You talk a big talk, for not being able to get a date until eighth grade," Coral shoots back, crossing her arms and doing that sassy thing with her head.

"She actually still hasn't gone on a date," Apollo cuts in. I whirl around to face him.

"Really?" I cry, "Now you say something? Can't you see I'm having a bitch-off here?" He throws his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry," He mutters, "bitch away, by all means."

"Thank you," Coral sighs.

"Anyway, back to the point: Get away from my brother," I snap.

"I can do what-I'm sorry, he's not even that cute. This is so not worth it," She sighs, walking away. Apollo chases after her.

"Hey, what do you mean I'm 'not even that cute'?!" He shouts, "I'm very cute! Girls find me very attractive..." Coral sighs and starts walking faster. He picks up the pace as well, still interrogating her about how she can possibly find him unattractive. Finally, she just whirls around, grabs his arm, and flips him to the ground.

"Ouch...that's gonna leave a mark," I mutter. See, this is our solution to things. We have school drama, just like mortal schools. We just respond to it differently. Someone you don't like is talking to you? Gossip about them in Farsi, that's the least commonly spoken language at MOJH. Someone has a crush on you and won't leave you alone? Hook kick them where it hurts. Bad rumors? Whoever started them is literally going to feel the burn.

So, you know, we're totally normal.

_**Hermes**_

Sometimes it seems like you're stuck in this rut, and you're never going to get out. This is just the way it's going to be. But life goes on, as does mine. Some days are unexpectedly great. Other days are awful. Those are the days when everything seems grey, and the best option is to jump off of the building again. I actually went back up there twice, but Artemis stopped me both times. She gives me these looks, like she's so disappointed in me but she doesn't want me to know. Which doesn't help my mood, because I don't like to upset people. But I get through it. Sometimes, I close my eyes, and pretend I'm OK.

The longer I stay here, the more I feel out of place. This isn't my home, and it never will be. I belong in the caves of Arcadia, where everything is wild and reckless yet beautiful in it's own way. The palace is beautiful, sure, but it's so perfectly trimmed and manmade. The line of caves, the wild thrashing ocean, they've never changed. They've always been that way, and they've always been my home. I miss them, and I miss my mom.

Just then, Iris walks in. She smiles and sits down in one of the chairs like she always does, and waits for me to begin. We've made some progress in the past few days, I've started telling her about the abuse, something that I've kept hidden from everyone, even my best friends. But Iris never seems horrified or upset, she just smiles and tries to help me. But I don't want to talk to her today.

"So," She says, "how are things today?"

"Fine," I mutter.

"That's good," She replies, "now tell me the truth."

"Not so great," I admit.

"Want to tell me about your mom?" She asks, still smiling.

"No," I tell her.

"You said some things about her in your sleep," She informs me.

"Why were you watching me sleep?" I question.

"I wasn't," She says, "there's a camera in here." She points to a little box in the top corner of the room I'd always ignored.

"Great," I sigh.

"It's a bit of an invasion of privacy," She admits, "but you're mentally unstable. You can't be left alone." That's what my life is now. I'm the suicidal, mentally unstable kid who had a good enough life, and then it all went to pieces. I'm another sad story, that people will tell with sad smiles on their faces but not really care about. "Well, if you don't want to talk about the bad, let's talk about the good. What makes you feel better?" I don't need to think about this.

"Artemis," I answer, "Artemis, Apollo, my friends, Quicksilver, running, and flying." She smiles at me, but it seems warmer this time.

"Good," She says, "you have visitors." She opens the door, and there they all are. All of them except Artemis. I search them for her, but she isn't there.

"We thought you might be a little lonely," Apollo says, "so we brought you a friend." He moves aside, and behind him is Artemis. In her hands she holds a lead rope, and on that rope is Quicksilver. She releases him, and he trots over to me. He looks at me like he doesn't remember me for a moment, then throws his head against my chest.

"Hey, buddy," I greet him, ruffling his silvery mane. He snorts and lips at my hair. I throw my arms around his neck, and he nibbles at my shirt collar. "I'll be back soon," I promise him, "and then we can show Macey Malone who's boss." He snorts in agreement.

"She's a nightmare," Ares groans.

"Really? I thought you loved her. She's practically begging to have sex with you," Hestia says coldly. "Then you can have four women."

"Four?!" I echo.

"Yup," Artemis says, dropping her voice, "he slept with Hestia, Aphrodite, and Athena. Macey Malone will make four."

"Wow," I say, stunned, "and I thought Aphrodite was a slut."

"I don't even like Macey Malone," Ares pleads with Hestia, "she's a bitch! Trust me, I would never do anything with her."

"Tell it to someone who cares," Hestia dismisses him. He sighs. Well, this is interesting.

_**Ares**_

Hestia's arms are crossed defiantly, her eyes pointedly avoiding my gaze. She watches Hermes's sappy reunion with his horse like it's the most interesting thing in the world. And it's not. It's actually really boring. But I can't blame her. I had it all; the perfect girl, great friends, generally a good life. And I threw it all away. Things have gone from bad to worse, ever since I spiked Athena's drink at dinner and seduced her. I know, I know, I'm a douchebag and not only have I ruined my own relationship, I ruined Apollo and Athena's too. But, in my defense, I wasn't dating anyone at the time! Nor am I now, so it's not like I was cheating on anyone...at the time. But I guess having sex with another girl isn't the best way to win back your ex.

I turn back to the conversation and listen to Dionysus tell a story about Macey. There's a never-ending supply of those lately, everything she does is scandalous.

"...and so I went in there to tack him up for her, because obviously she couldn't do it herself, and Poker starts snapping at me. And Macey starts yelling at me, even though the only reason I was helping her was because he was trying to bite her. And so I told her just that. And she said, and I quote, 'Get out of my sight, faggot!'" Dionysus recounts.

"She called you the F word?!" Hephaestus cries. Dionysus nods. "I'll kill her. She has no right to say that. I'll sneak into her house and stab her, I swear-"

"Chill," Dionysus says, "it's not like anything she says matters." Hephaestus sighs and unclenches his fists.

"You guys know she's coming to MOJH, right?" Hermes tells us, still petting Quicksilver.

"What?!" We all cry.

"Yeah," Artemis says, "we...um...saw Demeter showing her the dorms." She exchanges a secret, romantic glance with Hermes that makes me want to barf. Quicksilver snorts, as if the idea of Macey Malone at MOJH disgusts him, too.

"Crystal got this green-broke pony, Bubbles, that she's trying to sell, and he's worse than Poker," Hephaestus complains. As much as I hate Hermes, we really do need him around the barn. No one can handle a horse like he can, not even (as much as I hate to say it) me. I tried to tack Bubbles yesterday, and he literally chased me out of his stall. I tried to remember what Hermes had done when he'd been training Poker, but standing defiantly in front of a charging horse, which is what he'd always done, doesn't seem like the best option when you don't have superspeed if the horse doesn't decide to stop.

"Seriously, we need you. I swear that pony tried to eat me," Apollo says.

"Dude, it's, like, twelve hands," I remind him.

"Like you could do any better," He shoots back. I probably could, but I'm not going back in that demon's stall.

"Oh, gross! Get a room!" Persephone cries. I turn to see a very red Artemis leaning as far away as possible from Hermes, who's smirking slightly.

"I have a room, you're just all in it," He reminds us.

"Fine, then we'll leave. Don't need to tell me twice," I reply. And I do leave, because I'm so tired of Hestia's glaring. A few minutes later, Hestia joins me.

"I'm not mad at you," She tells me.

"You're not?" I ask, disbelieving.

"No. I'm disappointed. Although, I should've known. Everyone said you were trouble," She says.

"Well," I reply, "I tend to run on the wild side of life."

"I know," She sighs, "and I get that. That's you; that's who you are. But I just- I don't like it. You ran too far on the wild side this time."

"I promise, it won't happen-"

"But it did! It did happen again! You slept with Athena, she told me. Listen, I trusted you. And you let me down. Twice. It would be a lie to say I don't still love you, but I have to do what's best for me," She tells me.

"And that is...?" I prompt, praying it's "get back together with Ares".

"Let's just be friends," She decides. I don't even think before agreeing. Friends is better than what we had. It's not until after she's gone back into the hospital room that I realize what I've done.

Shit. I just got friend-zoned.

* * *

"I've got to get her back," I tell Apollo, pinning his hands behind his back.

"Dude, give it time. You're lucky to be friends," He reminds me, jerking forward and flipping me onto my back.

"He's right," Hephaestus says, grabbing Apollo's leg mid-kick and sending him sprawling him to the ground. I love PE.

"What would you know about love?" I remind him. Hephaestus blushes furiously and glances quickly at Dionysus.

"Nothing," Dionysus answers for him, "but we all know you're a douchebag." For this, I sweep my leg under his running feet and watch as he falls on the mat. I scramble to my feet and aim a roundhouse kick at Apollo, who ducks and does some fancy side-flip out of the way, giving him perfect access to my unprotected left side. Before I can defend myself, he shoot a well-aimed punch at me, and I double over. I can't believe I let Apollo beat me. Seriously, I could take him any time. But here I am, whining in pain because I got punched.

Wow. I am a giant girl.

**_Apollo_**

Hermes comes back to school the next week, to undisguised stares and blatantly obvious gossiping. The rumors are obscene. Hermes's mother raped Zeus and that's the only reason Hermes is here. RUMOR. Hermes is manic depressed. FACT. Hermes jumped off a building. FACT. Hermes's mother stabbed him. Hermes is dyslexic. Hermes has simply stopped talking to anyone, save for his closest friends. FACT. FACT. FACT. We try to help in any way that we can, but on some days he's just depressed, and there's nothing we can do about it. But we can stop the rumors, so when Enyo asked him if it was true that his mother owns forty-six different knives, all for stabbing, or if it was true that she is a serial killer with plans to overthrow Zeus, I hauled off and punched her right in the nose. Enyo, of course, made a huge deal out of it the next day, telling everyone to watch out for me because I would "beat you up, totally unprovoked. Don't be fooled by the goody-two-shoes image." Hermes told me I shouldn't have punched her, and that he can deal with gossip and rumors, but something told me he couldn't. He just wants people to stop staring at him, to stop knowing everything about him, to stop avoiding him, to stop treating him differently than before. And so I try not too, but it's hard to treat him the same when he comes into school depressed and has to leave early to go back to the mental hospital, or when he tells us he can't come hang out because he has therapy. On the days where he's happy, everything's alright. He goes through his days normally, as if nothing ever happened, and that's how we all act. And then there are the days when you just don't know how he's feeling, like today. We're sitting on the front lawn of the school, eating lunch. Artemis is telling us about her game-winning soccer goal, and Hermes is watching some birds with a nostalgic look on his face.

"You okay?" I ask. He doesn't reply for a moment, still watching the birds fluttering around.

"I miss it," He tells me, "I miss flying. I used to birdwatch from above the birds. Now I'm earthbound, and I honestly don't know how you guys do it."

"It won't be that long 'till you're up there again," I promise.

"I know," He sighs, "but it seems like a really long time."

"You know, being earthbound isn't that bad," I tell him, "there's lots of great things you can do."

"Like what?" He prompts. I wrack my brains, but everything I come up with is either physical or academic.

"Like, um, draw!" I suggest.

"Draw?" He repeats, "Have you seen me draw? Literally everything I draw looks like a duck." I ignore him and reach into my English binder, yanking out a piece of paper. I hand it to him and toss him a pencil.

"Draw me that tree," I instruct. Hermes sighs and starts drawing. In about five seconds, he hands it back to me, this time adorned with a long stick (I guess that's the trunk). On top of the stick is a circle, which I take to be the top of the tree. "Oh," I mutter, looking at it, "um, wow. Nice tree."

"Forget it," He says, "I know what my thing is. I'll just have to wait." He looks away, back up at the birds. I know he's trying to look on the sunny side (always the sunny side, look on the sunny side of life), but I can tell this upsets him more than he lets on. I try to understand where he's coming from, but the truth is, I can't. None of us can. He's lost the one thing that was his, no one else could do it as well as he could. It was his thing, what he was born to do. But there has to be something he can do on crutches.

"What about playing drums?" I remind him. "You can still do that."

"Mom didn't like it when I played," He sighs, "said it gave her headaches." I want to point out that his mother is not an issue anymore, but something tells me that wouldn't be the best thing to say, so I turn back to the conversation at hand.

"Ready to be destroyed at Nationals next weekend?" Aphrodite tells Dionysus. Dionysus doesn't reply. His chances don't look so great; Grapevine's cannon is broken, so he's riding Ellie.

"Nationals is next weekend?" Hermes asks.

"Yup. You're coming, right?" Athena asks. Hermes nods.

"You're lucky I'm not riding," He tells Artemis, "I would crush you. Like a bug. Or a...little piece of jello...on the ground...under my foot...that's covered in...pain...and...and...I would crush you!"

"Sure," Artemis replies. I glance over at Athena, and our eyes meet for a fleeting moment before she tears them away. I don't understand why she won't talk to me. It's not my fault she slept with Ares! I'm not really sure if I'm angry or not, I know he spiked her drink. But it pisses me off that she didn't tell me. I would've understood! Maybe I would've been kind of angry, but I'd cool off.

* * *

I open the door, and the room is empty. This doesn't make any sense; Hermes comes here for therapy after school everyday. He should be here by now. But he isn't, and neither is Iris. I close the door and walk by up the hall, running into the rainbow goddess at the front desk.

"Where's Hermes?" I ask. She looks puzzled.

"I thought he was with one of you," She says. I shake my head.

"No, we all thought he was here," I tell her. She frowns.

"Well, then, where could he be?" She asks. I wrack my brains. No one knows Hermes better than I do, I should know. And suddenly, it hits me.

"I know," I say. I don't wait for her to reply, I just start running. I run through the rows of palaces to the narrow path I'd walked so many times before, and still I run. The forest thins out, revealing the narrow pathway down to the caves of Arcadia. After stumbling down it, I spot my friend sitting on the roof of the cave he used to live in. I can picture the faded smiley face we drew so we could know which cave was his. We used to sit up there, and it was our place. Oh, the times we had there. How could a place that used to be so happy turn to be the setting for all of his nightmares? I scramble up the side of a cliff and make my way to him, the pathway marked by little yellow arrows we'd drawn. Not that I need them, I know this path like the back of my hand. Once I reach the right cave, I stand behind him for a moment, unsure of what to do. So I just walk over and sit beside him, and stare out over the ocean as he does.

"Why are you here?" I ask. He doesn't reply, doesn't meet my gaze.

"I'm tired," He finally says, "I'm so tired of it all. I'm tired of the staring, and the rumors, and everything. I didn't know where else to go. This is my home! Whenever I was upset, Mom would talk to me, and she always made everything better. I just don't know what happened! When it all went downhill. And I'm so tired. I want it to be over. I want to go back to before. Before everything was complicated. Before everything hurt." He still won't look at me, so I look at him. That's when I notice the tears. Hermes never cries, he's rarely upset, and when he is he's very good at hiding his emotions. And suddenly I feel guilty for coming here when he clearly wants to be alone. This is his home, not mine. I shouldn't be here, interrupting his private moment. But then again, I can't leave him alone. Not when he's in this mood. He could jump off the cave, or drown himself in the ocean. Or, worse, go back inside the cave that we sit atop of right now.

So I say, "I know. We all are. But it will end. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. You know what they say."

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away?" He guesses.

"What? No. 'It's always darkest before the dawn'," I explain.

"I didn't think it would get this dark. Sometimes, I don't think I can do it."

"You're not alone. We're all here for you." He doesn't reply, so we're silent for a moment longer. Then he hops to his feet, props himself up on his crutches, and slowly hobbles off the top of the cliff. I watch him for a moment, before I realize where he's headed. "Where are you going?!" I demand.

"Home," He says simply.

Hermes

"Hermes, don't do that!" Apollo cries, jumping down off the cave-top. I stare at the door instead of him, not wanting to meet his gaze. He doesn't understand, I have to. She has to know I'm okay. I can't shake the image of her hysterically crying as she begged neighbors for any knowledge on my whereabouts.

"I-I promise, I won't stay long. She just needs to know that I'm OK," I tell him.

"She doesn't need to know anything!" He exclaims, grabbing my arm and turning me away from the place that I've lived in all my life.

"She's my Mom-"

"She almost killed you!" I have no answer for this one. It's true, I came pretty close to death. But I'm alive and I'm here. I can feel the tears pricking in my eyes, but I can't bring myself to care as they roll down my face. "Trust me, this is a bad idea." I put my hand on the doorknob. "Hermes, I'm serious. Don't do this." I start to twist it. "Please, Hermes, stop!" I feel it click. Apollo's got a hand on my arm, but there's nothing he can do now. "Hermes, you know what happened last time." I start to push on the door.

I can't do it.

I can't bring myself to open the door and enter my nightmares, and to confront the source of them. I can't open this door and let everything that's haunted me come crashing down. I can't go in, because if I did, I could never bring myself to leave.

Danger is addicting. It draws you in like a magnet and holds you, even when you know you should leave. I don't think I want to go back in for the danger. I never want to repeat what I went through earlier this year. I want to go back because my life is in there. The only real family I ever had (besides Dad, but he doesn't count. He was never there). All my memories, the good and the bad. Everything I care about is somehow represented. I have my nationals trophy from last year. I have my medals from track. Pictures of my friends. My first winged shoes. My mom.

But I can't do it.


	21. Chapter 21: The Vow of Virginity

**Here is chapter 21! I don't have school today, so hopefully I can get a few chapters out! Please review. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I get two reviews. This chapter is probably gonna make you all hate me, so, um, don't kill me? Kay? Kay. Cool.**

**AngelicVampireGirl: I wanna go to MOJH too! How cool would that be? I actually ****_did _****mention that it was finished and that I was working on a sequel in chapter twelve. So there. Ha. I win. I'm not trying to trick you into liking Macey, I promise, because you won't. Ever. It's just really hard to explain so bear with me until we get there. Thanks for another great review! Glad you liked it!**

**ArtyMoonSon: Thank you so much! If I ever publish a book, I'll be sure to let you know. There's actually quite a few more chapters after this one, I hope I'm not boring you! The sequel is about 100 pages shorter with a few less chapters, but the chapters are longer. **

**Disclaimer: YOU NEED ME AND I DON'T NEED YOU (I hope someone out there got that reference Ed Sheeran, anybody? Nope? Okay.)**

* * *

**_Artemis_**

It's always unnerving when Dad wants to see you. As I walk through the palace, I try to shove the thoughts out of my head. No, Dad isn't throwing me off Olympus. He hasn't brought Orion back to life and is forcing me to marry him. Hermes is still alive. Calm yourself. You'll be fine.

The palace is, as always, perfect. Everything is sparklingly clean and in perfect order. The perfection gives it this surreal feeling, like when you go on vacation and your favorite shows come on at 7:00 instead of 7:30. Like, that's some weird shit right there. Always confuses me. I reach the throne room and knock on the door.

"Artemis," My father booms, "come in." I push open the doors and step inside, closing them behind me and then turning to face him.

"You wanted to see me," I say emotionlessly, staring at the floor and fiddling with the hem of my shirt. I've never had the best relationship with my father. He's clearly favored my brother for my entire life, and he just doesn't have time for the other one. Me. I guess, in his mind, I'm tough and can fend for myself. I don't need help. Or maybe he just likes Apollo better.

"Artemis, when you were born, you made a very important promise," He reminds me. My heart sinks.

"The vow of virginity," I supply.

"Yes, the vow of virginity. But, as I've seen, you've fallen in love," He says. I blush furiously.

"You could say that."

"With Hermes. Don't get me wrong here, I couldn't care less about your love life. You'd be free to date anyone you like. But there are rules, Artemis. Rules you can't go around breaking, and you've broken enough of them," He tells me sternly. I remember the moment when I drew my bow, and the next moment Orion was dead.

"And?" I prompt.

"And there are consequences for breaking these rules. Artemis, you chose the woods and the hunt over love. You can't go back on that decision," He says gravely.

"So, what do I need to do?" I ask.

"You need to make your final choice," He answers, his voice deathly serious. "The woods and the sport that you love, or Hermes?" I want to cry. I want to curl up on this perfectly polished floor and cry. I want to sob for all the pain I'll have to cause, because I know what I want. But I can't do that to him! I love him just as I love the woods, just as he loves the sky! I can't do this. I can't make this decision. How can he ask me to choose between what I love and who I love? Doesn't he realize the consequences? Doesn't he know that just a week prior to today, Hermes jumped off a building? Doesn't he know that Hermes is manic depressed? Doesn't he know that by making me choose, I could take Hermes's life?

But if I choose Hermes, I will take my own.

"Artemis," My father booms impatiently, "what is it going to be?" I feel the tears pricking in my eyes. I can't, I can't, I can't. I'm not ready for this. I'm only fourteen and here I am, making the choice that will change my life forever! Why can't I have both? Because you promised, a little voice in my head reminds me. "Artemis!" No, no, no. This isn't happening. This is a bad dream. I can't do this, I just can't. To take the forest from me is to take my life, but to take Hermes is to take my heart. Which do I value more? Is it worth living with no heart? But what's a heart without a life? "I know this is a hard decision, but I haven't got all day! What do you choose?"

"Give me a week," I beg, "I'll be ready then!"

"Artemis, I've given you all the time I can. It's time to choose," He says solemnly.

"Please!" I cry, "Don't make me do this! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I know exactly what I'm doing," He sighs, "and I don't want to do it. But rules are rules, Artemis."

"You make the rules!" I remind him.

"There is magic that is much more powerful than me," He tells me, "I cannot change what has always been." It's time, Artemis. Time to make your choice.

"I...," I trail off, not ready to let the words leave my mouth. I want a few more seconds of having both.

"Yes?" My father leans forwards in his chair. More than anything, right now, I want the relationship my brother has with Dad. I want him to see the pain I'm going through and care about it. I want him to let me cry, and to hold me while I do it. I want him to help me. I want him to be my father. But that's not the question. I'll always have Dad. The question is much more serious. "Artemis, what do you want?!" _Both_, I answer mentally, _I want what I can't have. I want the freedom of the woods, the power of the bow in my hands, the triumph when the animal falls down. But I want the sweetness of love, the pure emotion of kissing him, and the happiness that comes with it. But I can't have both. I have to choose_. "Artemis, now or never. And 'never' isn't really an option."

"I guess..."

"Yes?"

"I guess I choose hunting."

* * *

"Today, we will be learning to use the basic magical powers all of you possess," Hecate tells us. "While you may not have the capabilities that I do, you can all do a few things. For instance: color changing. Today, you will each be giving a colored piece of paper. By the end of class, it should be the color of its opposite on the color wheel." Hecate passes out papers to us. Mine is blue. Next to me, Athena has yellow.

"Is there a point to this lesson?" I whisper to her.

"Is there a point to any of Hecate's lessons?" She replies.

"Point there," I admit. Hecate stands before the class and claps her hands, calling us to attention.

"Well, let's get colorful!" She announces, probably trying to be witty. It doesn't work.

"Her teaching methods are awful," I mutter, glancing around the classroom to see how others are faring. Ares is proving that shaking the paper wildly and shouting, "Hocus pocus!" does nothing. Apollo has somehow set his on fire (go figure). Persephone's is sprouting flowers that are quickly taking over the entire classroom. Hephaestus has folded his into a lovely origami crane. And Hermes...oh gods, Hermes. His is flapping wildly around the classroom while he hobbles after it in vain. Every now and then, the paper, which has folded itself into a paper airplane, will swoop down and peck at someone's face just long enough for them to try and catch it. As soon as their hand gets too close, the paper flies away. As hectic as it is, Hermes has made more progress than me. Mine sits on the table, unmoving, untouched, and painfully blue. Like my mood.

"No!" Athena cries, smacking her paper, "Stop! Why is it doing that?!" I glance down at hers to see digits of pi simply appearing.

"Wow," I muse, "you've taken nerdiness to a whole new level. You're a nerd without even trying!" Athena scowls.

"Shut up and help me make it stop," She snaps. I would help her, except I don't know how. So I slap the paper as well. The classroom is filled with shrieks and failed attempts. Finally, Hecate gets to her feet and snaps her fingers. Instantly, the classroom comes back into order. Persephone's flowers shrink before our eyes until they're nothing. Apollo's paper goes out and becomes shiny and new, as if it weren't just on fire. Hermes's unfolds itself and floats back into his hands. The digits of pi on Athena's paper slowly erase themselves until the paper is blank. Hecate offers us one word.

"Focus," She says simply. So I turn back to my paper, stare at it intently, and think, _orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, this isn't working, orange, orange, orange..._

"I got it!" Hephaestus shouts, waving his now red paper in the air. "It was yellow, and then it just turned red! POOF! Like that!"

"Red isn't the opposite of yellow on the color wheel, you doof. It's purple," Dionysus tells him, "I think."

"You're kidding," Hephaestus sighs. Dionysus shakes his head. "I want you to know that you've ruined my life."I shake my head at them.

"Are they the only ones who don't know they're gay?" Athena asks me.

"Yup," I reply, turning back to my paper. _Orange, orange, orange, orange_…. Suddenly, we hear screams from the back of the room.

"My hair is on fire!" Coral screams.

"I am so sorry!" Apollo cries, "Here, um, I can fix it, if you want-"

"Here, let me," Hestia offers. Coral keeps screaming and fanning at her head, which is only growing the flames. "Hold still, I'll fix it," Hestia promises.

" 'Hold still'?!" Coral squeals, "My hair is on fire!"

"Alright, everybody stay calm. This has happened a million times before," Hecate assures us, striding over.

"If you'd just stay still for a moment, I could put it out," Hestia tries, fluttering around Coral.

"My scalp is burning!" Coral whines. Hecate grabs her shoulders and holds her still while Hestia puts out the flames. Coral gives a sigh of relief, then reaches up to feel the remains of her hair. "My hair!" She cries, "It's gone!"

"I can fix that," Hecate sighs. With a snap of her fingers, Coral's gorgeous blonde locks grow right back in. I almost wish she's still a bald, charred mess. You can't have Hermes anymore, I remind myself, so there's no use in being jealous. I sigh and turn to look at Hermes, who's oblivious to what I have to tell him. He's hastily coloring his yellow paper green with a marker he probably stole from someone's pencil case. I refrain from laughing. It hurts too much, reminding me of the great and happy moments we had together. And I'm about to end them. He has no idea.

Did I make the right choice?

I don't think I'll regret choosing hunting in years to come, but I sure do regret it now. I already miss him, and technically we're still a couple. _This is why you vowed to stay single_, a little voice in my head wheedles, _men are just too much drama. Stick with hunting. The animals will never cheat on you, or break your heart, or get you pregnant. You're a smart girl. You made the right decision_. But another voice says, _go back! Go back to Zeus and tell him you changed your mind! You'll be happy this way. Hermes is your soulmate. You two are meant to be. You've never been so happy as you were kissing him. And think of what you'll do to him. You'll break his heart, not to mention your own. He needs you now, you can't just leave him. Change your mind, Artemis! You made the wrong choice!_ I shove the voices out of my head. I've made my decision. I can't go back on it. Can I? Should I? _Would_ I? No, I wouldn't. I don't want to have to make that decision ever again in my life. I'll stick with the choice I made. After all, hunting is what I was born to do. I wasn't put here to kiss boys. I'm the goddess of the hunt. I can't just not hunt. I could only pick one. Hunting was the obvious choice.

Still, I can't help but wonder, if I'd fought for it, could I have had both?

_Orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, I made the wrong choice, orange, orange, orange, orange. Eventually, when you say a word long enough, it doesn't even sound like a word. Orange, orange, orange, orange, WHY ISN'T MY PAPER ORANGE?_

"Has anyone managed to change the color of their paper?" Hecate asks.

"I did!" Hephaestus announces, "But, apparently, red isn't the opposite of yellow on the stupid color wheel."

"Well, that's better than anyone else did! We'll pick up where we left off next class. And next time, let's try not to set anything on fire," Hecate look pointedly at Apollo while she says this. Coral glares at him, her hands protectively covering her glossy blonde curls. The bell rings, and Hecate dismisses the class. The halls are filled with chatter about the latest scandal, but I don't know what it is, nor do I have any interest in learning. I follow the throngs of gossipping students to the cafeteria, only to learn that if we want to talk, we'll have to do it in Latin.

"Is est a mortuus lingua! Cur non discere?"_(This is a dead language! Why do we have to learn it?)_ Apollo complains. I shrug my shoulders. I don't remember much Latin, so my conversations will probably consist only of, "Salve!" _(Hello!)_and, "Sic!" _(Yes!)_ The level of noise in the lunchroom always goes down about ten levels when we have to speak in another language, especially one we don't have a class for anymore. Latin was replaced with Hungarian when we entered middle school, which was dumb, because Latin is actually useful. Hungarian? I mean, come on. When am I ever going to speak Hungarian? I head to our usual lunch table with everyone else, trying to think of something useful to say in Latin. So far, I've come up with, "Sum amictus vestimenta hodie!" (_I am wearing clothes today!) _which, luckily, is true.

"Quisquam memor latina quaecumque?" (_Anyone remember any Latin?)_Ares asks.

"Sic!" _(Yes!) _Hermes replies, "Olfacies quasi pedem." _(You smell like foot.)_

"Verum," _(True.)_ Athena agrees. We sit down at our table and listen to the Latin conversations around us, trying to pick up something useful to say. Coral is telling her friends from the cheer team about her traumatic incident in Hecate's class, in which her hair caught on fire and she screamed. Fascinating. Then I remind myself that there's no use in hating her anymore, since I can't love anyone. The main reason I hated her was because she had all these boys wrapped around her finger, and I guess I was sort of jealous. But I don't need to be anymore. This is good, right?

"Students!" Professor Demeter calls, in Latin, "We have a new exchange student! Meet Thor." Thor speaks to us in slow, choppy Latin with a thick Scandinavian accent, so I can't even understand him when he introduces himself and tells us he is the Norse god of thunder. He sits with Theseus and his gang, and fits right in. All of them are big, muscular idiots who look the same from the back. Within a few minutes, you can't tell which one is Thor.

"An exchange student?" Apollo echoes skeptically (we've long since given up trying to have conversations in Latin), "Doesn't he have duties in...Norway, or wherever he's from?"

"Don't you have duties flying the sun around the Earth?" Athena points out. While we're still in school, Helios drives the sun, and Selene drives the moon. But as soon as we've graduated, the duties will be ours.

"Touché," Apollo replies.

"I don't understand how that works," Hermes says, "wouldn't you get, like, sunburn or something?"

"Sunburn?" Apollo repeats, "From inside the sun? I thought sunburn was the effect of being touched by the sun's rays. So, technically, if you're inside the sun, you wouldn't be touched by the rays, and therefore you wouldn't get sunburn."

"But isn't the sun just a big ball of fire?" Hermes points out, "So wouldn't you get burned?"

"Do I look like Jesus to you?" Apollo replies,

"Well," Hermes begins, "Jesus hasn't been-"

"Do I look like Wikipedia to you?" Apollo corrects. Hermes shrugs.

"I don't know what Wikipedia looks like, so maybe you do," He reasons.

"You are so annoying," Apollo sighs, "it's, like, amazing how annoying one person can be."

"Thanks, I try," Hermes replies. _I tried, too_, I think to myself, I tried to make Dad understand_. I'm so sorry_. I watch him joke with everyone else, so happy for the first time in ages, and I think he might be over the hump. Maybe he's gotten past the halfway mark in all of this, and things are finally going to start to get better.

And I'm going to ruin it all.

* * *

I walk down the white halls of the mental hospital, dreading the moment I'll open the door and let it all come out. The halls are buzzing with activity, but everything seems oddly muted to me. I can't focus. Inside, my world is crashing down. I know that I'll be left with the rubble, and that I'll piece it back together. But right now, I'm not sure if I'll be strong enough.

The door comes into view, and I want to turn back. My hand finds the doorknob and struggles to twist it. _Calm down_, I tell myself, taking a deep breath,_ be strong. You have to be strong. For him._ I open the door. Hermes is sitting on the edge of his bed, fiddling with his hospital bracelet and looking utterly bored. His face lights up when he sees me.

I can't do this.

"Hey," He says. It's a fairly commonly used phrase that I could respond to in over thirty languages, but I feel as if my mouth is full of cotton.

"Hey," I force out.

"You okay?" He asks, looking at me with concern. I almost laugh at the irony. Here he is in a mental hospital, on crutches with stitches in his left side, and he's asking _me_ if _I'm_ OK. But I'm not. I'm _so_ not OK. I'm about to ruin everything.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?" He looks at the floor.

"Not too bad." Now or never.

"Hermes, I, uh, I talked to Dad last night." Oh gods, I can't do this. I can't, I can't, I can't.

"Yeah? What did he say?" _He said I have to ruin your life._

"He, uh, well, remember the vow of virginity?" Hermes's face falls as he nods. "Well, uh, he said I have to choose. Between hunting and, um, you." He nods, his shoes suddenly becoming very interesting. "And, um, I..."

"You chose hunting."

"Yeah." I try to get a good look at his face, but he's still staring at his feet. I realize it's going to be hard to read the emotions of a boy who kept abuse a secret for six months. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I probably would have done the same, to be honest," He admits. _No, you wouldn't_, I think to myself, _you're better than that._

"I love you, I really do. And I want you to know that I didn't want to do this. But I'm fourteen. And I can't choose love over what makes me who I am at age fourteen," I explain. He nods again.

"I get it. You don't have to apologize," He tells me._ Yes, I do,_ I think to myself, _I did this. I'm horrible. I could never deserve you._ I wish he'd stand up for himself. I wish he'd yell, or cry, or something besides being so _emotionless_. He just nods, and takes it. It's a problem he's had all his life; he's a doormat. He lets people walk all over him. He lets Theseus bully him because Theseus likes to. He let Persephone kiss him to make her feel better. He let his mom beat him senseless because he thought it was his fault. He's letting me do this, right now.

"You'll find someone," I promise him, "someone who loves you." _I love you_, my mind cries,_ I love you more than anything in the world! I'm that someone who loves you!_

"Maybe," He says, "I guess we all find something."

"I'm so sorry," I gush, "I just...I had to...I can't give up hunting. I'm sorry, I really am."

"It's okay, Artemis. If I took that from you, I would never forgive myself," He replies. That's just the problem with me. I'll feel bad about this for a while, but eventually, I will forgive myself. I'll forgive myself for breaking someone's heart, and someone who's gone through something like this at that! I'll forgive myself for doing this to him. But if I chose him, he truly would never forgive himself. No matter which I chose, I would hurt him, somehow.

"I, uh, I guess I'll go then." He doesn't say anything in reply, so I head towards the door. When I'm halfway out of it, he speaks up.

"Artemis?"

"Yeah?"

"Just try to be happy." Here he is, a week after jumping off a building, telling me to be happy.

"Yeah. You too."

"Some of us just aren't meant to be happy."

In that one sentence, I hear him give up. I hear him accept that this is just the way it's going to be. And it breaks my heart. Because if anyone is meant to be happy, he is. I can't imagine Hermes without a cheeky smile on his face, his loud laughter filling the room. A month or so ago, I probably wouldn't have been able to imagine him unhappy at all, but now I wouldn't have to imagine it. I saw it. I watched him jump of that building. I watched him plummet towards Earth. And right now, I'm watching him let go.

"Hermes?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't give up."


	22. Chapter 22: The Gayest Chapter Yet (YAY)

**Two chapters in one day! Wow! You guys are awesome! Please review! If I get two more reviews, I may even get to post ****_three _****chapters in one day! We are getting ****_so _****close to that thing with Macey that I've been talking about. It's in the next chapter!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: Hermes and Artemis ****_will _****be getting back together. But before you get too happy, it's not in this one or the sequel. It's in the third one. Sorry! Glad you're not going to kill me though. Thanks for always reviewing, I love getting them!**

**ArtyMoonSon: As I stated before, I will be getting them back together. But not for a while. Thor is not a very important character, in fact, he only really shows up for that one scene. As for Roman counterparts, they ****_will _****be included, but not until the fourth installment. You ****_are _****the second reviewer, so here's your update! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaim-WAIT I DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!**

* * *

_**Apollo**_

I've ridden before a panel of highly qualified judges a thousand times before and never given it a second thought. But under the watchful eye of my best friend, I'm more nervous than I've ever been. I turn Sunburst towards and oxar, my hands tight around the reins. Sunburst's canter is steady and he's coming into the jump perfectly straight. What could go wrong? Then I feel it. That one little moment of hesitation. Sunburst slows his canter as if to take off, then throws in an extra stride before the jump. He arches his back as he hops over, and I throw my hands forward in an attempt to salvage the jump. Sunburst lands heavily on his backend, and I pull him down to a stop.

"Ladies and gentlemen; last year's show jumping national champion!" Macey Malone announces, clapping slowly and sarcastically.

"Yeah, he is last year's show jumping national champion. What does that make you?" Hermes shoots back. Easy for him to say, he's won nationals six times. Macey Malone crosses her arms and turns her nose up.

"This year's future cross country national champion," She replies.

"Please. You could never beat Artemis," I cut in.

"You have no idea!" She snaps.

"If you're so good, why don't you prove it?" Hermes says.

"We all know I'm good," She counters smoothly. "The person we're wondering about is you. Six-time Nationals winner? The 'future of the sport of equitation'? To think: You had all that. You were the talk of the competitive riding world. People really thought you were gonna make it big. And you threw it all away, falling off the monkey bars or something stupid like that." Hermes stiffens.

"Mind your own business," I snap icily. Macey rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.

"What fun is that?" She counters. I open my mouth to reply, but I realize I don't have a witty comeback. Macey Malone smirks. Luckily, Crystal rounds the corner just then, glaring at Macey. Hermes and I share a knowing look. Macey doesn't know what she's in for.

"Macey! Why aren't you practicing?! Poker should've been tacked fifteen minutes ago! We don't have time to fool around, Macey! We only have a week until Nationals!" Crystal exclaims. Macey groans.

"I hate that horse!" She whines, "He won't take the bit, he bites me when I try to put his girth on, he never picks up his feet for me to pick them, he always rolls right after I bathe him, he's a nightmare!" I can see the disappointment on Crystal's face. She brought Macey onto the team to replace Hermes, and I know she's regretting it now. Hermes wouldn't have had problems with the bit. Hermes would've been able to put Poker's girth on. Hermes could pick Poker's feet. Hermes could keep Poker from rolling. The fact is, Macey Malone just isn't good enough. And Crystal knows it.

"Figure it out, Macey. I don't have time for this," Crystal sighs. Then she turns to me. "Go through the course again," She instructs, "I want to see how it looks." Macey stamps her foot (in it's perfectly polished designer riding boot) angrily.

"I can't do it!" She squeals, "I'm selling that monster as soon as I can!"

"Go practice, Macey," Crystal says uncaringly.

"I can't get him tacked!" She cries.

"I'll help her," Hermes volunteers.

"Whatever," Crystal replies, watching me warm up Sunburst intently, "just get her tacked and don't let her die."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Hermes reasons. He and Macey disappear into the barn, and I take Sunburst to the beginning of the course again, sighing. Nationals preparation is the worst. This is going to be a long week.

_**Hermes**_

Somewhere in the mess that is my life, I remember the English project that was assigned at the beginning of the month. We were asked to write a short story (two to three chapters) about anything we want. I guess I have a pretty good excuse not to have done it, I've been kind of busy this past month with trying not to kill myself. But I figure I should write something, so I grab my notebook and scribble down this masterpiece:

**_How to Live a Happy Life_**

**_Written By Me_**

**_Chapter 1: The Little Things_**

_It happens to all of us. Even the smart ones. Admit it, you've gone to the bathroom, sat down, taken care of your business, and then realized you have no toilet paper. Now, if you are in a public bathroom, there's a clear solution. You awkwardly reach your hand under the stall wall and say, "May I have some toilet paper?" Then you pray that there's someone in the stall you've reached into, or else you will be awkwardly sitting for ages. But let's say you're not in a public bathroom, and this happens. I guess you could just pull your pants up and pretend you wiped, but that gets uncomfortable after a while. So, today I present you with a quick and easy solution:_

_1. Take off your pants._

_2. Turn on the shower._

_3. Pull the shower head out of the shower._

_4. Wash out your butt._

_5. DONE!_

_This works. Trust me._

_Life is full of little obstacles like this that we let ourselves get too distressed over. For example, girls get really upset when they have bad hair days. I can fix that, too! Just cut your hair off! I mean, you don't see boys complaining about bad hair days. Because our hair is short, we never have to worry about it. Sometimes, I don't even brush my hair._

_Another example: Other people. People take other people's actions, thoughts, feelings, words, etc. really seriously. How other people act around you or view you is really important, apparently. I don't understand why this is so. We shouldn't get upset if someone doesn't like us. We should just find a new friend who does. Chances are, you'll just weird him or her out by trying to make him or her like you, so just accept that they don't like you and move on. Ares has had to do this multiple times. Honestly, since when did other people determine what you are like? Don't take mean words to heart. If they're wasting their time bashing you, they're just not worth it._

_Yet another example: looks. This is incredibly important to people these days. I honestly don't get it. Either you're ugly, or you're not. Why does it matter? I guess you want people to think you're pretty, but I think we should just accept ourselves. If you're ugly, no matter what you do, you're never going to be pretty (unless you get plastic surgery). But people will overlook that and love you for the inside if they're honestly good people. Ugly people, stop stressing over beauty. Embrace your ugliness. It's Ok. We'll still like you. Sort of._

_The moral of this chapter is: STOP FREAKING OUT, HUMAN RACE. Honestly, these things are not that important. You can't change these things, so you might as well learn to let them go. There are going to be obstacles in life, both big and small. But don't waste your energy on the little ones. And girls, your hair doesn't determine your social status. Just clarifying._

**_Chapter 2: The Big Things_**

_I'm not really sure what I'm going to say in this chapter, since everyone deals with their big things differently. So I guess I'll talk about my experience with some big things._

_I don't know how else to put this: my mom hit me. Not like spanking, beating. WIth a belt. She was drunk and abusive, but I still loved her. I was worried that if I told anyone, I would never see her again. Honestly, that's what has happened. I haven't seen my mother since I was hospitalized after she stabbed me. But I realized that I couldn't keep hiding it. She was really hurting me, and it was too dangerous not to tell. So I did, and things seemed pretty bleak. Everyone was upset, and it seemed that I was the reason. I don't like to upset people. One day, when things seemed really bad, I tried to kill myself._

_I didn't succeed. I landed in a lake and someone saved me from drowning. But I learned that I can't run from my problems, I have to face them. However, this doesn't mean I have to do it on my own. I got by and am getting by with a lot of help from my friends. They've helped my through everything. People have treated me differently, stared at me, spread rumors, and avoided me, but my closest friends have just acted like it's still the way it was. That's what I wanted, and that's what I want. Big things may seem like the end of the world, but if you try not to make a big deal out of it, it won't seem so big._

_I guess what I'm trying to say here is: keep a smile on your face. Don't give up like I did. However you deal with your big things, keep dealing with them. They can't last forever. Things always get better, but you have to make them._

_Also, remember to buy toilet paper._

**THE END**

Guys, I'm so getting an A+.

_**Dionysus**_

"So, what did you get on the book project?" Hephaestus asks me as we walk to the barn after school.

"I got an A," I reply, "what about you?"

"A minus," He replies, "What did you write yours about?"

"Grapevine," I mutter, feeling really dorky. I keep my eyes on my feet and keep walking, until I realize that Hephaestus has stopped. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"I, uh, my book for the English project, I, uh, I want you to have it." He fumbles around in his backpack for a moment, takes out the book, and hands it to me. Then he jogs off before I have a chance to say anything. I look down at the book in my hands.

_Coming Out_

My eyes widen. I've always known I was gay, and I've always had a crush on Hephaestus, but I've never thought he was gay! But what if he isn't? What if this is just a joke, or what if he's implying that everyone knows I'm gay and I should come out? I keep reading. Chapter one is about coming out to your family, and I only skim through that. It says something about how if your family really loves you, they won't even care. I'm not sure if that's entirely true, but I sure hope it is.

_Chapter 2: Your Friends_

_This should be the easiest one. Good friends will stick with you no matter what. If they're honestly good friends, they won't judge you. If they do, maybe it's time for new friends. You are who you are, you're not going to change that, so sticking with people who think your sexual orientation is a sin is, in my mind, a waste of time._

I skim through this as well, as it pretty much says the same thing as chapter one.

_Chapter 3: Yourself_

_You're going to have to decide for yourself whether or not this is difficult. Some people are totally accepting of themselves. Others have more trouble. I definitely had a lot of trouble. Being gay is not the norm at my school. In fact, it's pretty much unheard of. Since sixth grade, I've known I'm different. But I never wanted to admit to myself that I'm gay. It took me awhile, but I figured out that if I never accepted myself, how could I ever get others to accept me? I couldn't live my life in the closet, either. There's a whole world out there, and it's hard to experience it when you're lying to yourself._

_If you're gay, there's no point in trying to convince yourself otherwise. And why would you want to? There's nothing wrong with being gay. If people think that there is, find some other people. It's a lie to say that being gay isn't harder than being straight, but that's no reason to pretend you're someone you're not. If there's one person in the world who's not going to judge you, it's you. So don't worry about what you will think of yourself. It's OK to be gay._

Oh. So Hephaestus _is_ gay.

I shut the book and am about to put it in my backpack, when a slip of paper falls out.

_This is dedicated to my best friend, Dionysus. You're the best guy I've ever met, and I've loved you since sixth grade. Will you be my boyfriend?_

**OMG YES!**


	23. Chapter 23: Nationals Disaster

**Three chapters in one day! I think that's a record! I got three reviews, and I think now I'm over fifty. WOOHOO! This is the chapter about Macey I was talking about. On a totally unrelated note, has anyone else been on tumblr lately and seen the mishapocalypse? It's...something. Just Google "mishapocalypse". You won't be disappointed. If I get two reviews soon enough, we can make it ****_four _****chapters in one day. **

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: OMG yes I spelled that right without looking! We had a good chat. I think your name is ****_super _****cool. Thanks for all the great reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

**ArtyMoonSon: I'm planning for there to be four books in the series, maybe five if I come up with a fifth idea. The second one is called ****_Summer at Training Camp, _****the third is called ****_Oh Gods, High School!_****, and the fourth is called ****_On the Run._**** So if you can gather anything from those titles, good for you! My lips are sealed! Actually, it's ****_you _****guys who decide when I update. I update as soon as I get two reviews, so the faster you review, the faster I update! Bribery...hee hee hee. Thanks for another awesome review! **

**AngelicVampireGirl: This is the chapter where you find out about Macey! I actually didn't intend for her to be killed off in the beginning, I thought she was an interesting character. But then I got fed up with her and killed her in this chapter. That's funny about your English class. You're stuck with your family but you can get rid of your friends, LOL. Just out of curiosity, do you and ArtyMoonSon know each other (like, in real life)? She said you recommended this to her, and a lot of your reviews are similar and they come at the same time. A word got left out of your review, so I'm not sure if last chapter was too low for your standards or too high. I'm hoping it's high. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: LALALA NOTHING TO SAY HERE**

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_**Hermes**_

Nationals doesn't seem as exciting when you're not competing. I try to be as excited as I normally am, for the sake of the team. _They've worked harder than ever these past two weeks for this_, I remind myself,_ they've competed all year to get here. Don't ruin it._

"Heels down, Macey! Sit up! Gods, it's like you've never been on a horse before! Oh, come on! At least _try_!"

Ah, how I _love_ Crystal's mood on competition days.

"Hermes!" Crystal calls. I look up, hoping there's another Hermes here. No one likes to talk to Crystal when she's in her pre-Nationals mood. "I've got to deal with Macey. Go help Dionysus." I nod and hobble over to the dressage ring. Dionysus is pulling Ellie through the set. She's fighting him the whole way, and he's yanking on the reins and smacking her with the crop. The whole goal of competing is to make it look easy and effortless. This is not easy and effortless.

"Come on, Ellie," He practically begs her, "it's just a simple flying change." She paws the ground and snorts, clearly tired of such slow, precise movement. She's not a dressage horse, she's a show jumper.

"Why don't you warm up with some laterals?" I suggest, "It'll loosen her up a bit." He tries, but she's not having it. She does little half-rears and yanks at the bit, raring to go.

"Forget it," He sighs, "I'll just scratch."

"You think Crystal's gonna let you scratch?" I point out.

"Well, what do you suggest I do?" He replies, "Go out there and make a fool of myself? I'm not a six-time winner, Hermes. I can't afford to lose to Aphrodite again."

"I'm not suggesting you make a fool of yourself," I say, "I'm suggesting you try."

"I've tried!" He exclaims, "She just won't do it! I appreciate the help, but I made it this far on Grapevine. I'm not finishing it on the ground."

"Trust me, you'll be fine. Ellie knows what she's doing-"

"She has no idea what she's doing! She's never done dressage before this!" He reminds me.

"Look, I know giving up seems like the best idea right now. It did to me, too. But it's not, trust me," I try to convince him. He shakes his head.

"It's not giving up, it's being realistic. It's not like we're going to go out there and she's going to magically learn how to do a half-pass," He argues.

"Oh, come on. She's not completely incompetent. She can do a half-pass," I reason.

"Sure, but the set isn't just half-passes! Can she do piaffes? Tempi changes? Voltes?" He points out.

"OK, okay, slow down. I don't speak dressage," I remind him.

"You get the point," He sighs. I honestly don't, but I pretend I do.

"This is Nationals, Dionysus. Don't you want to at least give it a shot?" I say, giving it one last try.

"If I try, I'm just going to embarrass myself," He sighs with finality, then rides out of the ring. Oh, well. At least I tried.

I traipse (cool word) back to our trailer, where Crystal is beside herself with anger. We have two minutes until show jumping starts, Macey definitely isn't ready for cross country, and Dionysus wants to scratch. Everyone is bustling around, doing last-minute prep for show jumping or warming up for their own event. It's total chaos, which doesn't surprise me. Nationals is always chaos.

"RIDERS FOR SHOW JUMPING, PLEASE HEAD TO RING D. RIDERS FOR SHOW JUMPING, TO RING D!" A voice announces. Crystal practically loses it.

"Is everyone ready?" She cries. We nod. "Tails are braided?" We nod. "Tack is clean?" We nod. "Hooves are polished?" We nod. "Alright, I guess we're ready. Good luck!" Persephone, Apollo, and Athena are waiting with the other competitors, Artemis and Macey are practicing, Hephaestus and Dionysus are going to the office so Dionysus can scratch, and Hestia and Ares are grooming and tacking for speed racing. So I get to spend some quality time with Crystal in the stands.

We take our seats in the bleachers to some murmurs in the crowd. They recognize me from these past few years. I try to block out the whispers ("He's won it six times, and he's not riding." "He may never be as good as he used to be. Kids need to be more careful these days." "I don't know, probably fell of his bike or something.") and pay attention to the rider currently competing. He's riding for Oak Hollow Stables, which is a really prestigious barn for tree nymphs only. He's good, but not as good as Apollo, Athena, and Persephone. Crystal's small smile says she knows it, too.

He finishes, and Persephone enters the ring. I lean forward in my seat, as does most of the crowd ("That's the girl that got raped." Gods, why does everybody know our business?). Persephone salutes the judges and begins. I focus on her intently as she rides.

Suddenly, I feel a sharp twinge in my left side. I'm taking pain medication for the stab wound in my side, but I'm on strict orders only to take it every five hours. It works pretty well, but it starts to wear off after the fourth hour. Those last sixty minutes are really painful.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, trying to ignore the searing pain.

"She took an extra stride," Crystal points out, "that's going to cost her points." I'm certain Persephone will make up for it, so I don't reply. "How could she have avoided that?" Oh, great. A test. I usually get to (decide not to) study before I fail.

"Lengthen his stride, and cut that turn tighter," I reply. Crystal nods.

"Good."

Wow. I think that's the nicest thing that's ever come out of Crystal's mouth. She has no more complaints for Persephone's ride, and we sit in silence until Athena rides into the ring.

"She'll beat Persephone," Crystal says, "you can already tell she's riding better. And she has a good shot at beating Apollo."

"I wouldn't be so sure, he's beaten her every year," I point out.

"True, but she doesn't get nervous like he does," She reminds me.

"And she doesn't ride as well as he does." Crystal has no argument for this. We all know it's true. Athena doesn't take an extra stride where Persephone did, which pretty much guarantees her a higher score. She takes the lead time-wise, but that's only part of the scoring system.

It's when Apollo starts the course that we hear the first scream.

_**Artemis**_

"Macey?" I cry, galloping top-speed through the practice course. I had specific orders to watch her while we practiced and get her ready for the competition. Keywords "watch her", which I've failed to do. I've lost her. "Macey? Macey Malone?!" Suddenly, she bursts into view. Poker is galloping wildly across the path, covered in forth. Her clothes are muddy and ruined and there are twigs in her hair. His eyes are wild and she looks terrified. She blows right past me without even realizing. "Macey, what are you doing?!" I shriek, chasing after her. She turns in her saddle, fear evident in her face.

"Run, Artemis!" She shouts, "It's chasing us!"

" 'It'?" I echo. She doesn't answer, but it wouldn't take just anything to get Macey Malone this dirty, so it must be serious. "Macey, what do you mean?" We tear out of the entrance to the course, and I urge Moonbeam forward. We reach Macey and Poker, and I grab her bridle. "What's chasing us?" Her eyes are wide and...glowing? Her eyes are glowing red. This can't be good. "Macey..." Her entire pupil has transformed into a steadily growing red light. "What's going on, Macey? What's chasing us?"

_"Me,"_ She growls.

_**Hermes**_

The people in the stands stir uneasily at the sound of the scream, murmurs breaking out amongst them. There it is again.

"_HELP!"_

Oh my gods. I know that voice.

"Artemis!" I cry, jumping to my feet. Crystal gets up, too.

"Are you sure that was her?" She asks.

_"HELP ME!"_

"That was _definitely_ her," I reply. I start to hobble off the bleachers. Crystal chases after me.

_"AAAAAAAH!"_

I pick up speed, hobbling as fast as I can with these stupid crutches. The screaming gets louder. Horrific images of Artemis's mangled body flash through my mind. Chaos has started to break loose. People are running to their trailers. Spooked horses have bolted away from their owners. And still, the screaming. I catch a snippet of conversation as I pass two girls fighting a flighty horse into a trailer.

"I swear, Kate, I saw it. It was huge."

"Come on, do you really expect me to believe you? A chimera? Here?"

"I'm telling you, it was there!"

A chimera? How could a chimera have gotten here? I reach our trailer, only then realizing I have no plan. I don't even know where Artemis is!

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! EVERYONE PLEASE STAY CALM! WE HAVE A CHIMERA ON THE LOOSE! EVERYTHING IS UNDER CONTROL!"

Shit.

_**Artemis**_

Macey's body is enveloped in light. A blinding flash fills the space. When it fades, Macey is gone. Before me stands an enormous chimera. I stare at the chimera, unable to move. How did it just appear? And where is Macey? Then it hits me.

The chimera is Macey.

Its lion's head roars, while its snake's head hisses. I run for my life, screaming. The ground around me starts to burn, fire cascading out of the goat's head of the chimera. The flame runs faster than I do, wrapping itself around me in a circle.

"HELP!" I scream, to no avail. The chimera spits fire at me, which, thanks to my huntress reflexes, I'm able to dodge. "HELP ME!" Can anybody hear me? I'm defenseless. I have no weapons, no godly powers, nowhere to run. This is it.

The chimera opens its lion's mouth and starts to close in on me. Just as the roof of its mouth is a foot or so above, I'm hit with a sudden idea. I aim a kick at the roof of its mouth, hoping to buy some time. It rears its heads back, roaring in pain. I allow myself a small moment of victory, before one of its claws knocks me over and it starts to move in on me again. I don't have time to scramble to my feet and kick it again. This is really it. I scream one last time, hoping somebody will hear me.

"Hey!" An arrow sails through the air. "Nobody eats my sister." The arrow strikes the chimera in the eye, momentarily distracting it from me. Apollo leaps off his horse and runs straight through the fire. He hands me a bow and a quiver of arrows. "You've only got seven arrows," Apollo warns me, "I grabbed them out of the emergency kit. Use them wisely." I knock an arrow and draw my bow, aiming it at the snake's neck. Apollo aims his at the other side of the neck.

"Shoot!" I announce. We let our arrows fly. They strike right where we wanted them to. The snake's head flails wildly, venom flying off its tongue.

"Better move out of the way," Apollo says, "I think that head is coming off." We wait for it to fall, but it doesn't.

"I guess it's thicker than we thought," I muse. Apollo fires an arrow, and it buries itself into the lion's skull. The chimera doesn't even flinch.

"We're gonna need a lot of arrows," He groans. The chimera roars and rears its head back. With one mighty blast, fire spills out of its mouth. I brace myself for the burn, my eyes squeezed shut. I wait, and wait, and wait, but it doesn't come. When I risk opening my eyes a crack, I see Apollo holding back a massive wave of fire. The ring of flame around us has also gone out, leaving the ground charred and black. "Run!" Apollo shouts, "Get help!" I start running, deciding that the forest is my best bet. The chimera crashes along behind me, destroying everything in it's path. I narrowly avoid it's feet as they crush fully grown trees. I'm painfully aware that I must run fast, or I'll meet the same fate. I scramble up a tree, hoping to get out of the way of the chimera. As I climb, my bow catches on a branch. I can't be slowed down, so I slip it off my arm and leave it there. I don't realize what I've done until I'm sitting on the top branch, the chimera has found me, and I'm weaponless.

I'm done for.

_**Hermes**_

I reach our trailer and grab the emergency kit. Two bows and two quivers are missing. I start to dig through it, searching for my winged shoes and baseball cap. They're buried under Hephaestus's hammer and slightly crumpled, but none the worse for wear. I pull off my riding boot and quickly shove my left foot into the left sneaker (that's right, I got my shoes on the right feet ON MY FIRST TRY), then grab the right shoe and stare at it for a moment. Then I glance down at my cast.

Genius realization: I did not think this through.

I ponder my predicament (big word) for a moment, then rip the wings off of the shoe and dig through the emergency kit for some surgical tape. I find it after a few minutes of searching and tape the wings to my cast.

Genius realization: I am a genius.

I rifle through the kit one last time, finally producing a stone wrapped in cloth. It's poison. If it touches your skin, you'll be dead in a matter of seconds. I'm careful not to touch it as I slip it into my pocket. Ellie is tied to the trailer, her bridle still on but her dressage saddle discarded in the trailer. I hobble over to her and carefully clamber onto her back.

"Run fast, Ellie," I whisper in her ear, "Artemis's life depends on it." I kick her with my one good leg and wind my fingers through her mane. I hear screaming from the direction of the forest, so Ellie and I gallop towards it. I bounce around sloppily on her back, clinging to her desperately with my hands and my right leg. "Easy, girl," I coax, trying to smooth out her canter as she stumbles over fallen branches and long tree roots. The chimera roars, spooking Ellie. She rears, throwing out her legs and neighing fearfully. Only having one leg to cling to her with, I topple off and land with a thud on the ground. The last thing I think is, _Wow, I'm really out of practice._

Then everything fades to black.

**_Artemis_**

I swing down from the top bough, narrowly avoiding the chimera's jaws, and grab my bow. I draw it and shoot, taking out an eye from the lion's head. It roars painfully, and I seize the chance to leap into another tree. Five arrows left. Suddenly, I hear a shrill whinny. Peering through the branches, I see a tall, bay mare rearing up, and a small, winged figure toppling off of her back.

Hermes.

I resist the urge to scream his name, the chimera has not yet found me and screaming would be a dead giveaway. I draw my bow again and shoot, taking out another eye and leaving the lion's head blind. Four arrows left. The chimera spots me with its four remaining eyes and races over to me, shaking the tree in which I take refuge. I position my bow over a branch like a hang glider and swing into another tree. About halfway there, my bow snaps in half.

_**Hermes**_

My eyes snap open, revealing an expanse of trees and a pretty bay mare standing before me.

I'm confused.

It takes me a second to regain my bearings. I'm in the forest at the A Circuit National competition, with a lump of highly lethal poison in my back pocket. The bay mare is Ellie, who I fell off of a few moments ago. Wait a second, why was I even on Ellie in the first place?

I'm answered by the roar of a monster and a scream I recognize all too well.

Impulsively, I shoot forward into the tree that Artemis hides in, throwing myself in between Artemis and the chimera and yanking the poison out of my pocket. The wings I taped to my cast work pretty well, but my broken ankle screams in protest.

"Hermes?" Artemis says, seemingly confused.

"One second, let me just save your life," I reply, peeling back some of the cloth from the stone and rubbing it against the snake's head of the chimera. A few seconds later, it falls to the ground, dead.

Like a boss.


	24. Chapter 24: Comic Relief&Something Else

**Hey! So this chapter is a bit of a filler, but I thought we could use something funny. I got four great reviews! I'll post the next chapter when I get two more, and there's a ****_lot _****more action in that one. Please review!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: Wow, you ****_really _****hated Macey, didn't you? Macey's dad...well, you'll find out all about Macey in due time. Just out of curiosity, are you and ArtyMoonSon related? You said she was trying to shove you off your laptop. Do you guys live together or something? I probably sound like such a creeper. Thanks for reviewing!**

**ArtyMoonSon: Glad you noticed my disclaimers, I was pretty sure no one ever read them. Now, about Ellie...jeez, I don't even know! I guess I never really thought about it. Um, they found her and brought her back. There. Originally, Artemis was going to be the one to kill Macey, but I couldn't figure out a way for that to happen. Glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!**

**Lyria: Welcome back! Glad to see you're still reading it! That was such a nice review. Thank you so much!**

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: Jeez, everyone ****_really _****hates Macey! You guys are scaring me a little. Oh, and here's the Urban Dictionary definition of "Keep on Keepin' On" : Continue to do what you've always done. ****_You just have to keep on keepin' on until you've achieved your goal. _****Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it!**

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_**Hermes**_

"Attention!" Zeus calls over the chatter. "I hereby call this meeting to order. Does anyone have any announcements?"

"Why aren't the minor gods here?" Poseidon asks.

"Because there are way too many of them, idiot," Hera replies, in her usually unpleasant manner, "I mean, why do we need a god of silence? What does he do, stay silent all day?"

"Actually, Harpocrates is mute," Hestia mutters.

"And why do we need a god of unmixed wine?" Hera rants on, "As soon as you mix it, he's no longer god of it! It's ridiculous."

"Hey," Dionysus slurs, obviously drunk, "that guy...that guy is my best...no, no, I hate that guy."

"Are you drunk?" Hera asks disdainfully.

"I like to call it...," Dionysus hiccups, "I like to call it '_marinated_'." I stifle my laughter into the palm of my hand.

"Honestly," Hades interrupts silkily, "who could survive these things if they _weren't_ drunk?" He's not drunk, I can tell (he's a mess when he is), but he always likes to say something witty.

"Hades!" Demeter snaps, "Why aren't you following the dress code?" He's wearing a black T-shirt that reads, "I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M HERE".

"I wanted to make my feelings known," He replies. Demeter rolls her eyes.

"Are those all the announcements?" Zeus says loudly, calling attention back to the meeting. "Very well. Today we are going to talk about-"

"**_DOLPHINS_**?!" Poseidon guesses excitedly, nearly leaping across the table.

"No," Zeus says shortly, "calm down, you overly-enthusiastic man-child."

"Are we going to talk about the fact that we have nothing to talk about?" Hades guesses.

"No," Zeus hisses, becoming more and more irritated by the second, "we're going to talk about-" He's cut off by a cry from my end of the table. I turn to see Athena's owl attempting to peck Ares's eyes out.

"Stop it!" He shouts, "Get off of me!" Athena giggles beside him.

"Athena," Zeus says in a warning tone.

"Fine, fine," She sighs, calling her owl off of Ares.

"Good. As I was saying-"

"Are we going to talk about _dolphins_?!" Poseidon asks, his eyes wide and begging.

"No!" Zeus shouts, banging his gavel, "For the last time, nobody cares about dolphins!"

"_I_ care about dolphins," Poseidon pouts.

"Can I leave?" Hades asks.

"NO!" Zeus exclaims, "No one may leave! We have matters to discuss!"

"We _so_ don't," Aphrodite sighs.

"Yes, we do! And they have nothing to do with dolphins!" Zeus cries, exasperated. Poseidon sighs dejectedly. "Anyway, first order of business: The seasons have been thrown out of balance."

"Ah, yes, that would be because my lovely queen has not returned to her kingdom," Hades says, drumming his thin fingers together. Persephone stiffens.

"And she won't be!" Demeter snaps.

"Demeter, I'm afraid she has to," Zeus says. Demeter lets out a cry of rage and throws her arms around her daughter. Persephone doesn't cry and shake as she did before, she just sits stiffly.

"I'll visit you this weekend," She says flatly. Demeter gasps and tightens her grip on Persephone. Hades's thin lips curve upward in what could be interpreted as a grotesque smile.

"The spirits of the dead will be pleased to see you." Persephone turns her nose up at this and crosses her arms. "Lighten up. We'll have a good time," He promises.

"We most certainly will _not_!" Persephone snaps. Hades shrugs.

"Perhaps you won't." Suddenly, we hear a loud _thud_. I look over to see Dionysus has fallen off his chair.

"Floor...," He slurs, "floor needed a hug."

"Go home, Dionysus, you're drunk," Hera commands.

"Not drunk," He mutters, " _'at peace with the floor'_."

"Do you have anything to say to your drunkard of a son who, by the way, is fourteen?!" Hera snaps at Zeus. Zeus looks over at Dionysus, who is on the floor, laughing to himself. He turns to Hera, who sits with her arms crossed, glaring at him impatiently and expectantly. He looks at Dionysus. He looks back to Hera. He sighs.

"_Never_ get married." Hera's mouth falls open in rage, but her cry of, "What's that supposed to mean, you horrible, lying adulterer?!" Is cut off by Dionysus.

"S'okay," He giggles, "I'm gay." I nearly leap across the table.

"I KNEW IT!" I cry, along with Apollo, Ares, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Persephone, and Hestia.

"Didn't we all?" Hades puts in boredly. Then he turns to Hephaestus. "What about you? You're gay, too, right?" Hephaestus blushes furiously.

"What?" He splutters, "Um...I, uh...I'm not...um...yes." He fidgets uncomfortably in his seat, hating being the center of attention.

"Yay!" Dionysus cries, "Everything is gay and beautiful and covered in sparkles!"

And that was the end of that meeting.

* * *

I sit in the musty library, trying to cram nine month's worth of lesson's into the two weeks we have to study before finals. First subject: English._Grammar for the Student_ lies open in front of me, but I've made no attempt to read it. The sentence, "Then is not than!" swims before my eyes, turning into, "_eThn is ont nath!_" Real helpful, _Grammar for the Student_. I sigh, squeeze my eyes shut, and open them again, staring down at the page before me.

_hnWe irtwing a ceeesntn ti is paiortmnt to usnsigtdihi etebenw enth nad atnh. seThe tow dsrow, ehlwi ilasmri, name yver nrtfidfee nigsth. The rowd htna si duse nehw moanpcgir owt wrdso._

_moTmy is etrall anth naJe._

_nahT acpmsoer mmysTo hheigt ot sJean. ehT orwd ehtn is sued wenh nqeugnseci tseven._

_ymoTm eat cnhul nthe dyepla gta._

_nTeh wshos hatt Tymom aet ulcnh reefbo lgiapyn atg_

Um...

I glance around me, but no one else seems to be having any trouble. I turn back to_Grammar for the Student_, which hasn't become any more understandable. Sighing, I slam the book shut and shove it back onto the shelf. Second Subject: Math. I pull my textbook out of my bag and start doodling in the margins. This is studying. It's very helpful.

My pencil breaks in the middle of a very beautiful doodle of my math textbook going up in flames, and I'm forced to look down at the page. "_rheapCt Etigh: uatielIsqnei_". I lean in closer, peering at the words. The letters flip themselves over and mix themselves up before my eyes, turning into a mosh-pit of ink. Screw it, I'm gonna fail anyway.

"How's it going?" Apollo asks, sitting down beside me.

"Great," I reply. "Look what I drew!" I show him my doodle of a burning math textbook.

Apollo rolls his eyes.

"You know, inequalities are actually really interesting," He states matter-of-factly. "Sometimes I think maybe if you thought about it in a way that interests you, you would do much better."

"Sometimes I think I should paint myself purple and run naked through the streets, but then I think, 'Yeah, maybe _not_ the best idea'," I reply. Apollo sighs.

"Think about it this way: Let's say you're in a competition, and you're trying to jump as many jumps as possible in the allotted time. You have twenty seconds, and you average two seconds per jump. How would you figure out how many jumps you could jump in twenty seconds?" He asks.

"That's easy. You would add two seconds for every jump until you got to twenty," I answer boredly.

"Right. But there's a more efficient way to do that. Let's take the variable j to represent the number of jumps you jump. Now, you would multiply that by two. The answer has to be at most twenty, so you would use the symbol that represents 'equal to or less than'. Your final answer would be: 2j is less than or equal to 20," He explains.

"..."

"Here," He says, pulling a piece of paper from his notebook and writing out the equation. "See?"

"..."

"It's simple. This sign means 'equal to or less then', and it shows that two times the number of jumps..." I zone out. A) I don't care, and B) I still don't care (oh, also, C] Istillhaven'ttoldmybestfriendthatI'mdyselxicwhicis kindofimportantsincehe'stryingtoteachmealgebrabutn obigdeal). "...are you listening?"

"What?" I say, pulled out of my thoughts, "Oh. Um, not really."

"I'm trying to help you, you know," He sighs.

"I know," I reply. I know but nothing you do is going to help. I've got a secret that I haven't told you (wow that sounded really sexual). "Um, Apollo, I, um...I have something to tell you," I mutter uncomfortably.

"Yeah?" Oh, Gods, what should I tell him? Should I tell him the truth? No, what if he told someone else? Apollo wouldn't do that, he's my friend. But still, anything could happen! Oh, Gods, now he's staring at me. He probably thinks I'm insane. Which I am. Oh my gods what should I do?

"Um, I, uh, I have to go." And with that, I hobble out of the room.

Smooth. Real smooth.

_**Persephone**_

I sit on the throne, my hair woven into an intricate braid and pinned atop my head. A tiara rests on my hair. A beautiful necklace sits on my neck and shiny, diamond earrings drip from my ears. I wear a floor-length renaissance gown. Hades likes his finery, and so I am decked out in the finest of adornments to be found in Greece. But I am not happy.

"Your highness, his majesty the king requests your presence in the ballroom. He has prepared a party to welcome his queen," A servant tells me, bowing deeply.

"Tell him I'm not in the mood," I reply emotionlessly. The underworld has that sort of effect on people. Everything is dead and emotionless. The servant bows deeply again before answering.

"My lady, he has insisted that you attend," He informs me.

"Very well," I relent, "I'll be down shortly. Tell him I am preparing myself." The servant bows again and rushes from the room. I don't want to go to the party, but if I refuse, Hades will have the servant's head. I rise from the throne and walk into the bathroom, examining my reflection. Every hair is in place, every pearl, every diamond, every karat of gold. I look older than I do on Earth, somehow. There, I am a naïve young girl. Here, I am the queen. I sigh and walk from the bathroom, sitting down with a flourish on the throne. I don't have to go just yet. I can tell Hades I was powdering my nose or something girlish like that. For a king, the man is _unbelievably_ stupid.

I get up from the golden throne and walk down to the River Styx, my head held high. Spirits of the dead grovel at my feet and cling to the fabric of my gown, but I ignore them. Upon arriving at the river, I step into Charon's boat and instruct him to take me to the ballroom.

"It's a magnificent party, Majesty," He growls (everything he says comes out in a growl), "All of the most high-ranking spirits of the dead are in attendance."

"Lovely," I reply sarcastically, "I shall swirl in the arms of an idiot that I hate, and dine with the dead."

"C'mon now, Hades can really be quite the romantic," Charon argues. I give a dry, emotionless laugh.

"His method of wooing a wife was flawless," I say, "no better way than rising up out of the ground in a chariot pulled by red-eyed horses breathing fire, grabbing the nearest pretty eight-year-old, and pulling her down into the land of the dead to force-feed her pomegranates." Charon pulls the boat over to the shore.

"Give him a chance," He instructs me wisely. I step out of the boat.

"No, thank you." I dismiss him, and he rows away down the river. I turn to face the ball room, where Hades is conversing with Orion and Orpheus. When he sees me, his grotesque, slimy, thin lips curve into a smile. He leaves them for me, pulling me into the ballroom by the hand and leading me to the center of the room.

"Our lovely queen has arrived!" He announces, to cheers from the dead. I do not smile at them, instead I stare blankly. "Let us dance!" Hades takes me up in his arms, Orpheus playing a pretty tune on his lyre. Around us, the dead partner up and dance with us. Hades is smiling his gross, twisted smile, and seems to be having a good time. Although I hate all of it, Hades, the dead people, and the underworld, I love to dance. I allow myself to be swept into the music, pretending I am in the arms of a gorgeous mystery boy, and not a forty-year-old pervert to whom I am married. "You seem happy," Hades remarks as we sit down at a table for dinner.

"Then you _clearly_ don't know what I seem like when I am happy," I tell him coldly.

"Well, you've never looked happier," He says, ignoring me.

"In your presence," I finish. He sighs.

"Persephone, dear wife, queen of the underworld, I must ask something of you," He tells me.

"Then ask it," I reply.

"I want an heir," He says simply. The blood drains from my face.

"What do you mean?" I demand shakily.

"I want you to bear my children. And we shall start tonight."


	25. Chapter 25: My Little Bird

**Hi! Sorry I didn't get this up sooner. I wanted to do it last night, but it was too late. I got four reviews, and now I'm 2 away from 70 (I think)! As soon as I get those reviews, I'll post the next chapter.**

**ArtyMoonSon: I would love to talk about dolphins with you. Dolphins travel in pods of up to about 12 individuals. Sorry I forgot the disclaimer! I'll try to make it extra funny this time. Thanks for reviewing, glad you enjoyed it!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: No, you were meant to hate Macey. You guys were just so happy when she died. Like, I don't want to get on ****_your _****bad side...Why don't you like Persephone? I mean, she's a bit naïve and annoying, but she's not ****_that _****bad. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it!**

**Lyria: Don't worry about Persephone (SPOILER ALERT), nothing happens to her. That was ****_such _****a nice review, thank you so so so so so so much! Glad you liked it!**

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: Meow. Yeah, I liked "keep on keepin'" on better, too. Thanks for another awesome review! Keep on keepin' on!**

**Disclai-No. **

* * *

_**Hermes**_

I hobble from the library on these damned crutches and into the hallway. My backpack, stuffed with books I can't read, weighs me down and makes the trip to my locker even slower.

"Hey, look, it's Peg-Leg!"

Oh, great. I love running into Theseus when I'm alone in the hallway with no witnesses. What fun!

"That's really funny, Theseus. You should be a comedian," I remark sarcastically.

"A career in comedy would waste my amazing butt-kicking skills," He points out.

"Oh, yeah," I mutter, "forgot about those." I close my locker and start to hobble away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Theseus demands.

"Well, my free period is almost over, so I'm going to class-"

"I meant: Where do you think you're going without a proper beating-up?" Theseus rephrases.

"Oh. Well, you should be more clear about what you mean," I tell him. He rolls his eyes.

"Are we going to stand here and chat, or can I get right to it?" He says.

"I'd prefer to stand here and-" But I'm cut off when Theseus pushes me roughly to the ground. My crutches fly across the floor and I land on the ground with a thud. He smiles maliciously and moves closer, pushing me with his foot and sending me slamming into the lockers. I let out a cry of pain, which he finds incredibly funny. Then he delivers a sharp kick to my left side. Right where my mom stabbed me. He laughs at my screams of pain, until he sees the blood.

_**Artemis**_

I slam my Hungarian textbook closed and start towards the hallway. There are only ten minutes left of my free period, and I don't want to be caught in the crush of people when the bell rings. The hall is empty, which is weird to see. It's usually filled with so many students that it's hard to move. Suddenly, I spot a figure lying on the ground, curled into a fetal position.

I start to run when I see the pool of blood surrounding the figure. My blood turns to ice when I draw nearer and realize who it is.

"Hermes!" I cry, sitting down beside him, "What happened?!"

"Theseus...," He groans quietly. I lift up his shirt and see a dark purple bruise surrounding his old stab wound, which is bleeding profusely. The stitches are torn, and the skin that they used to be sewn into is ragged and bleeding.

"Oh my gods," I breathe. "Okay, hold on, I'll get help." I start to rise, but he grabs my hand.

"Artemis..."

"What?" I demand.

"If I die-"

"No, Hermes, don't say that!" I cut him off.

"Artemis, listen. If I die...," He trails off.

"What?" I exclaim. He doesn't reply. His eyes slide closed, and his head lolls to the side. "Hermes!" I scream, shaking him. He doesn't respond. "No, you can't be dead!" The corners of his mouth turn up slightly.

"...delete my internet history." Despite myself, I laugh slightly.

"Very funny, Fairy Feet," I reply. His eyes meet mine and he smiles. I smile back, until he wraps his arms around his stomach and starts convulsing on the ground.

"Artemis...hurts," He groans.

"I know," I tell him, "it's gonna be ok." My hands flutter around the wounds, but there's nothing I can do. Free period will be ending in about five minutes, and I can't just leave him here to get trampled. "Hold on, Hermes, it'll be ok. I'll...I'll..." I don't know what I'll do, but just sitting here is not an option.

"Artemis!" My head whips around, and I spot Apollo running towards us. Thank gods. I may tease him about being a nerd, but he'll know what to do in this situation, which is something I could never do. He sits down next to me and tries to pull Hermes's arms away from his stomach. "What happened?" He demands.

"I don't really know," I tell him honestly. Then another thought hits me. "Wait, how did you know-"

"I'll tell you later. Go to the palace. Get Dad, and tell him what happened. Quick!" He bell rings, and students's chatter fills the hallway.

"What about-" I begin, gesturing to the people starting to flood the space. A ring of fire springing up around us cuts me off. "Well, I guess that's one solution."

"Artemis, go! I don't know how much time we have left!" His words scare me, and I scramble to my feet. I'm out the door when the first shrieks echo throughout the halls. I don't let it distract me, I just keep running, as fast as I can. But the palace is a good ways away. Will I get there in time? No, I think to myself fervently, don't think like that. Of course you'll get there in time. Hermes's life depends on it. I pick up speed, darting into the forest. The shortcut is clearly marked by thousands of footprints. As I run, I hear whistling. Iris comes into view. Great, just what I need. The loopy rainbow goddess getting in the way.

"Artemis!" She calls, "Good to see you. How are things?" Oh. My. Gods. Shut. Up.

"Um, not so great," I reply. Suddenly, an idea hits me. "Actually, I could use your help. I need to get to the palace, fast."

"Why?" Iris asks, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Well, yes,"I admit, "but this is kind of important."

"What is it that's so important?" She presses. Why does she have so many questions?

"Hermes is hurt," I explain, "and I need to get to the palace."

"Oh," She says, "and how do you feel about this?"

"Iris, I don't need therapy!" I cry exasperatedly, "I just need to get to the palace!"

"Oh! Well, next time, just say so!" She smiles, conjuring up a rainbow. I smile tightly back at her, deciding not to explain to her that I did. And it was kind of implied. Hermes is hurt. I need to get to the palace. How much more obvious can you get?

"Thanks, Iris," I tell her, stepping into the little rainbow cart that appears at the bottom of the rainbow.

"No problem! Have fun! I just love rainbow-rides," She muses. And with that, the cart rockets into action, speeding along the rainbow track. I cling to the sides. No matter how many times I ride these things, they always make me want to puke. I check my watch as I speed along the rainbow. It's been five minutes since I left MOJH. Five minutes that I wasn't there. Anything could happen in five minutes. He could be dead!

The rainbow cart crashes to a stop at the bottom of the rainbow, and I'm sent flying out of it, landing sprawled on the ground. I don't waste any time thinking about the pain that erupts in my knee. I've only scraped it. I'll live.

Whereas Hermes might not.

_**Apollo**_

"Oh my gods!" Someone shrieks.

"Is that blood?! Oh my gods, someone's been murdered!"

"OMG, what is, like, going on?"

I ignore them all and try to keep Hermes's arms away from his stomach. Every time I pry them away, they just snap back.

"C'mon, Hermes," I beg, "just for one second, OK? I need to take a look at it."

"Hurts...so...bad...," He groans.

"I know. If you let me take a look, I can make it better," I promise. He shakes his head weakly.

"Don't...touch...hurts..."

"I'm not going to hurt you," I tell him. He tightens his arms around his stomach. "If you don't let go, I _will_ hurt you," I mutter, frustrated. He flinches and squeals. "Just kidding! I won't hurt you, I promise," I attempt to salvage whatever progress I've made, and try to pry away his arms again. After another failed attempt, I decide to wait until he's lost enough blood. He won't have the energy to fight it anymore, but I won't have much time to stop the bleeding. I weigh the pros and cons for a moment, before deciding to keep trying anyway. Eventually, I manage to yank his arms away, and start lifting his shirt before he can put them back down. The skin around the wound, which is bleeding profusely, is black and blue. He groans in pain when the fabric of his shirt brushes against the skin. I chew my lip in between my teeth, unsure of what to do. The floor is blood-soaked, reminding me that my first priority is stopping the bleeding. I pull his shirt over his head and ball it up, pressing it against the wound. He gives a loud yelp of pain, which I force myself to ignore.

"What is going on here?!" Demeter shrieks shrilly. "Gods, we can't go two days without one of you dying."

"He's not dead," I explain. And then, as an afterthought, "At least, I don't think he's dead."

"Not...dead...," Hermes groans, "just...clarifying..." Suddenly, we hear wailing sirens. And by sirens, I mean the monsters that lure you into the sea. They sit on top of Dad's ambulance and wail. It's...actually a really dumb idea, but I've heard it enough times to be immune to it. The doors fling open and Dad comes running in.

"What happened?" He demands.

"I don't know," I admit, "I just found him here. Artemis knows more than I do." I think I hear Hermes say something about Theseus, but it's so quiet that I can't be sure. Then the doctors run in and have the nerve to push me away (Ok, they _obviously_ are more qualified than the god of healing), and I'm swallowed by the group of students craning to get a good look at the scene.

"What happened?" Athena demands, "Why is everyone gathered around here? And why is the ambulance here?"

"Hermes is hurt," I explain, chewing my lip in between my teeth. It's a nervous habit.

"Apollo, are you gay?" Athena suddenly asks.

"What?!" I squeal, "What would make you think that?! Of course I'm not gay!"

"Well, I don't know, you just spend a lot of time with Hermes, and..."

"Because I'm his friend and he's manic depressed and can't be left alone! How's _that_ for an explanation?!"

"Calm down, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Athena, you asked if I'm gay! After I had _sex_ with you!" I add the last part in a whisper, although I'm pretty sure everyone already knows. Athena turns bright red and runs off, and I smack my palm into my forehead. _Nice job,_ I think to myself, _she'll totally get back together with you now._

_**Artemis**_

The door to the hospital room I've come to know so well opens and Zeus walks out.

"Well?" I prompt.

"He's not allowed to move too much for the next week," Dad tells us. I groan inwardly. He's going to hate that. "He needs new stitches and he's going to need a fair bit of physical therapy."

"Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?" Ares mutters.

"He wants to see his mom." The reaction is immediate and angry. Apollo leaps to his feet, his fists balled at his sides. I draw my bow at the her mention. Aphrodite gasps, Athena starts reprimanding Zeus, Dionysus crosses his arms all sassy-like, Hephaestus sets his jaw and pounds his fist into his open palm, and even Ares has the decency to glare at our father.

"But, sir-" Athena begins.

"Don't call me sir. I am your father, not a military official," Zeus reminds her.

"But, ma'am-" Athena corrects.

"Athena!"

"Ma'am, sir, your royal amazingness-whatever! That's not the point!" I cut in.

"Yeah!" Ares says, "Wait, what is the point?" Apollo smacks his palm into his forehead.

"You are _so_ dumb," He sighs.

"We all know Ares is dumb!" Athena snaps, "That is not the matter at hand! Dad, you're not letting that filth in this castle! You can't! After what she did to him, you're going to let her be in the same room as him? How could you?" Our father is silent for a moment. My mouth drops open with realization.

"Oh my gods, Dad, you're not actually going to..." He nods. "What?! You can't do that! Have you seen the scars on his back?! The cast on his ankle? The stitches in his side?! _She_ did that. To her own _son_."

"She'll be heavily guarded-"

"So what?!" Apollo cries, "So they'll be guards around her-big whoop! The fact that you're going to let her in here is just...just...just..." He flounders for the right word. "...despicable. Disgusting. Horrifying. Cruel." Zeus regards us all expressionlessly for a moment.

"The decision has been made."

**_Hermes_**

_The caves of Arcadia swing upside down, and I wonder for a moment why the water isn't falling out of the ocean. Then I realize that it's me that's upside-down, not the caves. The wings at my feet flap wildly, as do the ones on my head. I laugh for a moment, enjoying the sensation, before I'm faced with a predicament: I don't know how to turn myself right-side-up. At only four years old, I haven't quite grasped the basics of flying. Well, I think to myself, how did I get upside-down to begin with? That's easy. I just turned the caves around. Right? Maybe that's not it. It's hard to think with all the blood rushing to my head, so I turn myself over before continuing to search for the solution. That's when it hits me: I'm already right-side-up again. Flying never ceases to amaze me._

_"Hermes!" My mother calls, "Come inside! It's time for dinner!" I flap slowly and carefully downwards, before stumbling to the ground and landing on my face. Landings are going to take a while. "Did you have fun?" Mom asks, sitting down at the table and motioning for me to do the same._

_"Yup," I reply. "I turned upside-down, but then I couldn't remember how to turn back. And then, suddenly, I was right-side-up again!" My mom laughs and ruffles my hair._

_"Be careful out there," She warns me._

_"I will," I promise her. She smiles. "Mommy, why do we live in a cave?" I ask her. She looks thoughtful for a moment._

_"So you can draw on the walls and just wash it off," She explains. That's a good enough answer for four-year-old me._

_"I can draw on the ceiling!" I cry, fluttering up above the table and placing my hands on the roof of the cave. "Look how tall I am!" Mom laughs and smiles. I don't know why she's laughing. Whenever I ask her, she just says, "Because you're so cute." There's nothing more frustrating. "One day, I'm going to fight big monsters as tall as our cave!" I promise her._

_"Right now, just eat your dinner," She instructs. So I fly back down and land clumsily in the chair, then eat my dinner obediently. Afterwards, Mom and I go upstairs, and she tells me the story of Perseus and Medusa, which fascinates me. Then she tucks me in a kisses me goodnight. As she's leaving, she says what she always says, "Sleep tight, my little bird."_

Finally, a good dream. She hasn't said that in seven years. Ah, the good times.


	26. Chapter 26: Cheating Death

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I wanted to post it last night, but I had a lot of homework. To make up for that, I wrote you a super long chapter. I got three reviews, and as soon as I get two more, I'll post the next chapter!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: You're meant to hate Theseus. Hermes is my favorite character, too (I guess that's obvious). Thanks for another awesome review!**

**ArtyMoonSon: I did know that dolphins were smart, but I ****_didn't _****know that they were considered the smartest! Did you know that dolphins are one of the only mammals (besides humans) to be able to recognize themselves in a mirror? Dogs and cats just think it's another dog or cat. I am thirteen, how old are you? The backstory for Hermes's mom is that she's shunned by the other nymphs for having an affair with Zeus and turns to alcohol. She blames Hermes for the other nymph's foul treatment of her, because without him, no one would've known about her affair. She's both drunk and angry, and she takes it out on him. Yes, Theseus is really only there to be the antagonist. Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it!**

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: Yeah, I've heard that Apollo was bi. And apparently that thing with Daphne turning into a tree was not a one-time occurrence that kind of stuff happened to Apollo all the time. Like, he had this guy friend that he liked named Hyacinthus, and they were throwing discus, and Hyancithus got killed by one of them discuses. So Apollo turned him into a flower (the Hyacinth) because that seems to be his solution to everything. Thanks for reviewing! **

**DiscalimfhgfsirghqyrlaygNO.**

* * *

_**Hephaestus**_

_Meet me in the alley behind MOJH. :)_

_-Dionysus_

I smile to myself, the text still imprinted in my brain. I'm not really sure why he chose the alley, it's kind of a sketchy-ass place, but no one ever goes there. So we don't have to worry about the shitstorm of judgement that is reality.

"Don't you think this is kind of a scary place for a little homo like yourself?" I hear the words just as I'm walking around the back of the school.

"Where's Big Homo to protect you?"

"Huh, faggot? Where is he? Aw, did Iron Man dump you?" I hear a sickening thwack that I take as a punch being thrown.

"Did that hurt, Sparkles? I'm so sorry." Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

"Fucking homo." I hear a loud bang this time, and break into a run. When I round the corner, I see Theseus, Bellerophon, and two of their brainwashed thugs holding a knife up to Dionysus's throat. He's unconscious, blood trickling from his head and staining the cement wall behind him.

"Get your filthy hands off of him,"I growl, grabbing Bellerophon by the shoulders and yanking him roughly away from Dionysus, who slumps to the ground.

"Oh, look what we have here. It's faggot number two," Theseus taunts. I lunge at him. We roll to the ground, kicking and punching. Luckily, I have super-strength, and he doesn't. I pin him to the ground and am prepared to strangle him, when I remember that he still needs to kill the minotaur and I can't kill him before he's started his myth.

"Strike one, Theseus," I warn him ominously, getting up and leaving him groaning on the ground. Bellerophon and the two others stare at me, wondering if they should fight. Their leader is currently curled into a ball on the ground, and they're all totally brainless. I lift Dionysus off the ground and position one of his limp arms around my shoulders, preparing to drag him back to the palace.

"You got lucky, fag." I let Dionysus fall to the ground, turning sharply and shoving Bellerophon against the wall.

"You so much as look at him again," I hiss, "and I won't hesitate to tear you limb from limb." With that, I pick up Dionysus again and make my way back to the palace.

_**Apollo**_

I'm seated on the bench outside the hospital room, staring at the silver numbers on the door. Room 251. I don't need the numbers. I've been here enough just in these past two months to know them by heart. Artemis is pacing outside the door, waiting for the doctors to let us in. I know she still loves him. I don't think my song helped.

Suddenly, we hear footsteps. Artemis stops pacing and we whirl around, but the site that meets our eyes isn't good knews. So little is, these days. Hephaestus is carrying a limp Dionysus in his arms, who's sporting a fresh shiner.

"What happened?" Artemis cries.

"Theseus happened," Hephaestus grunts, "Theseus and his gang of homophobic thugs." That's all he needs to say. We understand.

"Gods, when will Theseus leave us alone?" I complain. Dionysus mumbles something incoherent, and all eyes turn to him. But he's still and silent again. Hephaestus sets him down on the bench, and then we wait. And wait. And wait.

"Um, Apollo...," Artemis prompts, motioning to Dionysus's still figure.

"What?" I ask.

"You're the god of healing," She reminds me, "can't you, like, do something?"

"I'm not a magician," I mutter, kneeling down in front of Dionysus and grabbing one of his limp wrists, testing for his pulse. It's faint, but it's there. I press my ear against his chest. Same goes for his heartbeat. Next, I tilt his head back and take a look at the gash. Big, but not deep. It's not bleeding anymore, though his hair is caked with dried blood. Suddenly, his eyes flutter open.

"Whazzgoinon?" He slurs.

"Even when you're not drunk, you're drunk," I muse.

"Huh?" He mumbles. "Wait...how did I get here?"

"Hephaestus carried you," Artemis explains. Hephaestus blushes.

"Well, I mean, you were, um, so I...," Hephaestus flounders, his eyes trained on the ground.

"Does this hurt?" I ask, pressing down on the wound on his head.

"_OW_!" He cries, "Yes! How did that happen?"

"You don't remember anything?" Hephaestus asks, fear and worry evident in his voice. Dionysus furrows his brow and thinks for a moment.

"I was in the alley behind MOJH, waiting for you, and then Theseus and his gang walked in. Then they started punching me, and Bellerophon knocked me up against the wall. That's all I remember," He recalls.

"That's when I showed up," Hephaestus continues, "Bellerophon had a knife to your throat."

"Did you bitch-slap them?" Dionysus smiles.

"I bitch-slapped them so hard their heads popped right off their shoulders," Hephaestus says seriously. Dionysus gives him a high-five.

"Now they know not to mess with the homos," He replies. Suddenly, we hear a voice behind us.

"It's a beautiful day in the gay-borhood, and all the gays are out to play," The voice sings. We whirl around to see Hermes leaning casually against the doorframe.

"You do realize you've been unconscious for three days," I remind him, "and the first words out of your mouth are, 'It's a beautiful day in the gay-borhood'." Hermes shrugs.

"It is-wait, I've been unconscious for three days?" He questions. I nod. He looks to Dionysus and Hephaestus. "So, how'd it go?"

"How'd what go?" Dionysus asks, confused.

"What, you haven't had butt-sex yet?" Hermes replies.

"No," Hephaestus answers slowly.

"Jeez, lets wait for the grass to grow, why don't we?" Hermes says. I can't help but laugh.

"You've been out for three days, and _this_ is what you're worried about?" Artemis muses.

"This is the only thing _to_ be worried about," Hermes answers seriously.

"Hermes, we're fourteen. We're not having butt-sex any time soon. We're way too young," Dionysus explains.

"Ouch," I mutter, "harsh." Fourteen isn't that young! I mean, seriously, as long as you're drunk, it's OK! Then you can't be held accountable for your actions, anyway.

WAIT, NO, THAT'S TERRIBLE ADVICE. DON'T LISTEN TO ME, KIDS. ALCOHOL IS BAD. AND SO IS SEX. DON'T EVER HAVE SEX. THEN YOU'LL GET PREGNANT AND DIE.

...kay I'm just gonna stop talking now.

_**Artemis**_

I sit beside my brother on the bench, watching Hermes complain about how Hephaestus and Dionysus haven't had butt-sex yet and they are seriously the most boring gay couple ever. Dionysus says, "Well, at least we're out of the closet." And then glances to Apollo. Hermes looks confused for a moment, before insisting that it's a he's not gay. Dionysus just rolls his eyes, not listening to either of them.

Suddenly, we hear loud footsteps hurrying down the hallway. I whirl around to see Panacea (goddess of universal remedy) jogging down the hall.

"Hermes!" She snaps, "You're not supposed to be moving!" Hermes glances at us sheepishly, then back at Panacea (he'd always made comments about how her name sounds like, "Pancake-ea". He _does_ have a point).

"Gotta run," He mutters, propping himself up on his crutches and hobbling away.

"Hermes!" Panacea cries.

"Can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!" He cheers, disappearing around a corner. He's fairly slow on crutches (not that I'd ever tell him that to his face-he'd kill me), but Panacea is a bit...round, so it's a pretty even race. Panacea runs past us, waving her arms wildly and muttering curses.

"Get him, Pancakes!" Dionysus mutters. I giggle behind my hand, not wanting Panacea to see. She's got a hell of a temper. Just then, a head pokes out of the door to Room 251.

"Did Hermes run off again?" Aceso (goddess of the healing process) asks. We nod. "He's been doing that all morning. It's driving Pan wild." Panacea has three sisters, Hygieia (goddess of of health, cleanliness, and and sanitation), Iaso (goddess of recuperation from illness), and Aceso. And since "Panacea" is a bit of a mouthful, and "Pancakes" is considered rude, they just call her "Pan". Not to be confused with the satyr, or the cooking device.

Suddenly, we hear a crash and a strangled cry of pain, followed by Panacea shouting, "I told you this was going to happen! ACESO! COME HELP ME!" Aceso sighs and runs off, shaking her head at us. We wait silently for a moment. The sisters usually travel in a pack, which means Hygieia will be here any minute now, demanding that we go wash our hands and showering us with Purell. Sure enough, we hear footsteps clattering down the hall. But they're not as loud as Hygieia's usual six-inch heels are as they bang across the floor.

"What did I miss?" Persephone demands, "I got back from the Underworld and Mom told me Hermes was back in the hospital! Oh my gods, Dionysus, what happened to you?" He looks better than he did when Hephaestus carried him in over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but that's a pretty low standard. His head is leaning back against the wall, his hair is caked with blood, and there's a bright purple bruise over his right eye. Just then, Aceso and Panacea walk in, supporting Hermes in between them. His head hangs down over his chest limply and his eyes are closed. Great. I swear, he's spent more of this year unconscious than conscious. "Jeez, a girl misses one weekend and everyone dies," Persephone groans.

"I had a run-in with Theseus in the alley behind MOJH," Dionysus mutters.

"The alley?!" Persephone cries, "What were you doing in the alley?!" Her voice drops to a whisper, "People get raped there, you know. I heard a man was killed there. Do you know how they did it?" Curiosity gets the better of me.

"How?"

"They set his balls on fire," She whispers dramatically. Curiosity killed the cat.

"That is so not true," Apollo claims.

"It is," Persephone argues.

"Uh-huh. And where, exactly, did you hear that?" Apollo asks.

"Aphrodite told me," Persephone says matter-of-factly.

"Right, because everything Aphrodite says is true," Apollo replies sarcastically. "Persephone, use your brain! Aphrodite's the queen of gossip." Persephone sticks her nose up defiantly.

"It's true," She says firmly, "and I'm the queen, so what I say goes."

"Yeah, queen of the dead people. Newsflash: We're not dead," Apollo counters.

"Those bell-bottom jeans you're wearing died years ago," Persephone shoots back. Dionysus whistles.

"Oh, snap!" He cheers, "she burned you!" Apollo looks at him quizzically, furrowing his brow and shaking his head.

"Dude, I'm not gay," He points out, "I don't care about my jeans." Dionysus regards Apollo for a moment with raised eyebrows, then glances at the door to room 251.

"You're not?" Apollo looks confused for a moment, then rolls his eyes.

"Hermes and I are not dating!" He exclaims, "We're not even gay! I've banged a girl. I mean, c'mon. And Hermes dated Artemis! We all saw them make out at some point-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough out of you!" I cut him off. He puts his head in his hands, flustered.

"I'm not gay!" He says with finality.

"Ok," Dionysus replies, sounding unconvinced, "you're right. The guy in bell-bottom jeans who walks around spewing poetry, singing show-tunes, and playing the accordion-which is the _gayest_ instrument ever-totally isn't gay."

"I don't play the accordion!" Apollo defends. Lies. Dirty, dirty, lies.

"Apollo, you once played 'Happy Birthday' on a chromatically-tuned set of flower pots. I'm pretty sure you can play the accordion," Hephaestus points out.

"Chromatically-tuned flower pots?" Dionysus repeats, "Nope, that takes the cake. _That's_ the gayest instrument ever."

"They weren't flower pots!" Apollo argues, "They were vases. Get it right."

"Right," Persephone puts in, "that makes a huge difference."

THIS SECTION REALLY ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE, SO...THIS IS AWKWARD. KAY BYE.

* * *

That day makes things seem like they're okay. Yesterday, he was hobbling around the hospital wing, chanting, "Catch me if you can!" Today, he's unconscious and hooked up to the heart monitor again. It's steady beeps, instead of reassuring me, set me on edge. I listen to it almost obsessively, always assuming that each beep I hear is going to be the last.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

I wait frantically for the next one, thinking for one horrid moment that it isn't coming.

_Beep._

I let my breath out, unaware that I'd been holding it.

"Would you stop staring at that thing? It's not going to stop beeping," Apollo says.

"How do you know?" I snap. He glares at me.

"I just _do_."

"That's reassuring."

"Shut up." And that's the end of our lovely conversation. I go back to listening to the heart monitor. _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep._ Apollo jumps to his feet, pulling a strange-looking machine out of a cabinet. _Beeeeeeeeep_.

The heart monitor goes silent.

Apollo goes to work, ripping the wires off of Hermes's body and pulling his shirt off. Next he takes to sticky pads out of the machine and presses them to Hermes's chest.

"Clear!" He shouts (probably just for dramatic effect). He presses a button, a loud buzzing noise fills the room, and Hermes jolts. Still, the heart monitor doesn't beep. Apollo glances over at me, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry," He tells me. I shake my head.

"No!" I cry, "No, you're lying! He's not dead! There has to be something we can do!" Apollo shakes his head.

"It didn't work, Artemis," He sighs, "I tried." Tears start to spill out of my eyes as I cross to his side, taking his limp hand in mine.

"No," I mutter, "no, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening!" I look down at his face, his eyes closed for good. I'll never see that mischievous glint again. His mouth will never form that lopsided smile again. I'll never watch him soar over jumps. He'll never fly again. He'll never win another Nationals trophy. His infectious laugh will never fill another room. He'll never make another bad joke or say some stupid pun. He'll never glare at us for calling him "Fairy Feet". Never. It's all over.

He's dead.

_Beep._

Apollo and I nearly jump out of our skin. My head whirls around to face the heart monitor, which is once again beeping steadily. _Beep. Beep. Beep._ Apollo recovers from his shock first.

"What?" He cries, "That's not possible! People don't just come back to life! What's going on here? What kind of voodoo shit just happened?!" I don't care. I'm more satisfied by the sound of one beep than I ever could be by a whole slew of Apollo's beautiful notes.

"Who cares? He's alive!" I cry.

"But...but...but...," Apollo flounders, "but that's not possible! That goes against all the science I've learned my whole life! Does this mean my whole life has been a lie?"

_**Hermes**_

"...I don't understand! How is this possible? It's not! What...I...huh?" I blink groggily, the scene before me coming into focus. Apollo is standing with his back to me, shouting at the heart monitor about the laws of life and death. Artemis is watching him with an amused expression on her face. "But that's just...that's just not how it works! Those aren't the rules! Once you're dead, you're dead! You can't just come back to life!"

"Well, I've never been one to pay attention to rules," I cut in. Apollo jumps and whirls around.

"What did you just do?" He demands, "How did you just...you were dead and then you just came back to life!"

"Funny story, actually, I was headed towards the light, and then I thought, 'It would really drive Apollo insane if I just came back to life right now'. So, I did," I fabricate.

"Very funny," He groans.

"Apollo's having a bit of a freak-out because all of the nerdy facts he's memorized say you can't come back to life. Now he's questioning his nerdiness," Artemis explains.

"Shut up," Apollo mutters. Suddenly, the door opens and two armed soldiers stride in.

"I knew it!" I cry, "I always knew that goody-two-shoes image was a lie! Apollo, who'd you kill?"

"What?" Apollo replies.

"Obviously they're here to arrest-Mom?" My jaw drops open. Flanked by two more guards, her eyes downcast and her normally perfect hair disheveled, is my mother. Before anyone can stop her, Artemis leaps to her feet and slams my mother up against the wall, her hands curled around my mom's throat.

"How _dare_ you," She hisses, "how dare you show your face on Olympus, you sick piece of _dirt_! What _nerve_, to show up here like nothing ever happened. You should be in the dungeons, hanging by your wrists over a fire for all that you've done! What kind of sick-minded person does that to their _son_?! How did you stand it? How did you stand yourself? You nearly killed him-" she draws her bow and places the arrow against my mother's left temple. "-and now, I'm going to kill _you_."

"Artemis, stop!" I leap to my feet and zip across the room, my broken ankle screaming in protest. I grab Artemis by the arm and yank her away from my mom, pulling her, struggling, to the floor and securing her arms behind her back.

"Let me go!" She demands, "Hermes, you know what she did. You know she deserves this." My gaze meets my mother's, her eyes pleading with me. Her life is in my hands. Artemis is a lethal weapon when she's mad. If I let her go, the guards would stand no chance of saving Mom's life.

"I know," I tell her. My mother's face falls, those two words are a death sentence for her. "I know," I repeat, "but I can't let you kill her."

"What?!" Artemis cries, "Why not?! Let me give her what she deserves! After all that she did to you, Hermes, you're going to spare her life?"

"She's my mom," I mutter, "she raised me-"

"Yeah, and then she almost killed you!" Artemis wrenches herself free and lunges at Mom again. She draws her bow, and I close my eyes, waiting for the sickening sound of the arrow finding its target. Instead, I hear the bang of the door slamming open.

"What in the name of Olympus is going on in here?" My father booms, "Artemis, what are you doing?" Artemis scrambles to her feet.

"Dad, you must agree with me on this one. She's a monster! Look what she did!" Artemis points to me, "I merely wanted to give her what she deserves! And you know she deserves ten times worse than death. I was letting her off easy."

"I agree with you that she deserves it," My dad hisses, glaring at my mom, "however, I can't let you run around killing people."

"Not multiple people," Artemis argues, "just her. And maybe Perseus, because he's a douchebag, but other than that-"

"Artemis, no! And that is final!" Dad orders. He points to the door, "Out, now." Artemis hangs her head and trudges out the door. "Apollo, follow your sister and make sure she doesn't come back in here with an army and a declaration of war." Apollo nods and follow Artemis into the hall. "Well, now that we know there won't be any killings going on, proceed with your family reunion." My mother leaps to her feet and runs over to me, moving in to hug me. Instinctively, I shrink away from her arms. I've become wary of them and what they can do under the influence of a little alcohol and some anger. My mother smiles sadly at me.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you," She promises.

"I know," I mutter, "just a habit." She looks heartbroken at this, but hugs me anyway. I let her, but I don't hug her back. I just sit and enjoy the feeling of her arms around me. It does feel good, and I've missed it.

"Hermes," My father cuts in, "what are you doing on the floor?"

"Oh, I was just trying to keep Artemis from killing Mom," I explain. Dad sighs and points at the bed, which I reluctantly climb back into. My mother tucks me in, just like she did when I was four and she called me, "my little bird".

"How's school, honey?" Mom asks me.

"Good," I reply. Dad looks at me pointedly.

"Tell your mother what the doctor found," He orders.

"Oh," I sigh, "um, Mom, the doctor says I'm dyslexic."

"Oh," My mom replies, "well, that's good to know. What about that Theseus kid, Hermes? Is he still picking on you?"

"No," I lie.

"Really?" Dad contradicts, "I thought he was the reason you ended up here again." He motions to the hospital room as he speaks.

"What?!" My mother cries, "What did he do, honey?"

"Nothing, compared to what you did," Dad answers for me. She glares at him.

"Hermes, tell me what Theseus did," Mom insists.

"Well, he did Ariadne at a party, I heard," I stall.

"Hermes!" My father snaps, "That is not funny!"

"It wasn't meant to be funny," I reply, "it's the truth." Mom sighs.

"What did he do to you?" She presses.

"Oh. He just kicked me is all. It's not a big deal. I'm fine," I mutter.

"He kicked you and tore your stitches," My father adds.

"Dad, really, I'm fine. He knocked Dionysus out in the alley behind school," I attempt to change the subject. My father's jaw drops.

"What?!" He cries, "When? Why? Where is he?"

"Theseus or Dionysus?" I question.

"Dionysus!" Dad exclaims.

"I don't know. He was here yesterday. Theseus and his gang beat him up for being gay," I explain.

"It sounds like I need to have a chat with Theseus," Dad growls. I know that voice, and it doesn't mean anything good for Theseus.

_**Apollo**_

Artemis and I sit outside Room 251, listening to the voices inside. I can't make out anything.

"You know," Artemis tells me, "you never told me how you knew we needed your help that day."

"Huh?" I reply, confused as to what she's talking about.

"That day that I found Hermes in the hallway after Theseus kicked him, and we needed your help, you just came out of nowhere. And when I asked you how you knew, you just said, 'I'll tell you later,'. You never did." She explains.

"Oh," I reply, "I don't really know how to explain this. I just kind of _knew_."

"Maybe it was because of the web. You know, how we're all linked and stuff?" She guesses. I shake my head.

"No, it wasn't like that. I didn't feel anything. But I saw it," I say.

"Saw it?" She echoes, "That's not possible."

"Well, it happened," I reply. "Twice, actually. It happened when you were about to be eaten by that chimera. I heard you scream, but also, I saw it. Before it happened, actually.

"Maybe you can see the future," She jokes, "maybe you're, like, a human time machine, or something." Huh. She might be onto something with that.

"No, no, that would actually make sense," I muse. She snorts.

"C'mon, Apollo. Don't be ridiculous," She replies.

"No, I'm serious. Think about it. I'm the god of prophecy, right? So it makes sense that I would be able to tell the future," I explain.

"Apollo, that's the oracle, not you," She tells me.

"Got a better explanation?" I ask. She glares at me.

"No," She admits, "but I'm just saying, that's ridiculous. You can't tell the future."

"Remember, I saved your life," I remind her, "so, if I really can't tell the future, next time I have a vision of you being eaten by a chimera, I'll just let it slide. I'm probably insane, anyway." If looks could kill, I'd be a dead man.

"I don't need you to save me, thank you very much. I'm just fine on my own," She argues.

"Right, I should've just left you on your own at Nationals," I point out.

"I would've been fine," She snaps.

"Arty, it was about to eat you," I remind her. She glares at me, but has no retort.

YES! VICTORY!

Artemis: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Apollo: 1


	27. Chapter 27: Mute

**Hey! I would've gotten this up earlier, but I had a guitar lesson. So, here's chapter 27! I'll post chapter 28 as soon as I get two reviews! Also, I finished the sequel to this, ****_Summer at Training Camp._**** I'll post that as soon as I'm done with this.**

**ArtyMoonSon: Cool! We're the same age! I hope we'd be friends, too. We're friendly over the internet, so we'd probably be friendly in person. Hopefully. You don't see much of Theseus for the rest of the story or most of the sequel, actually. That was such a nice review. Thank you sooo much!**

**Lyria: I have absolutely no idea how Hermes came back to life. Maybe his subconscious was playing tricks on the world. You always leave such nice reviews, thank you so much!**

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: Glad you liked it! A sunflower? Wow, what is it with Apollo and botany? This seems to be a trend with you...I already told you this but I'll be glad to read your story whenever you can send it. I'm excited to see it! What happened to "keep on keepin' on"? Oh, well. "Derp" works, too. Thank you!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: No, the story about the guy having his balls set on fire is a rumor. It was just a bit of comic relief. I would love to ride a dragon horse, too! I have homework because I'm in seventh grade and I'm in school so I get homework, and I had a lot last night, so I couldn't post that chapter. My disclaimer was destroyed in an angry fit of anger. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: ...**

* * *

_**Apollo**_

Seeing his mom doesn't help Hermes at all. In fact, it makes things worse. He won't talk to anyone except me and Quicksilver, and when he talks to me, it's never more than three words. He's just silent. One day, in math class, Demeter asked him if he knew what the difference between scale and scale factor is, and he just looked at her. He stared for what seemed like an hour before answering, so quietly that it was almost inaudible, "I don't know." So she just smiled sadly at him and asked someone else.

And it was so sad.

He doesn't crack dumb jokes at meetings, or put things in people's chairs. He doesn't talk at lunch, he doesn't pass notes during class, he doesn't leave (horribly misspelled) messages on the boards before the teacher gets to class. He's not who he used to be, simply a hollow shell. Everything he did used to have this sort of bouncy, never-ending, somewhat annoying energy to it. Now, as I watch him clean a saddle, he just looks dead. Like he's given up. And he can't give up.

"How's your day been?" I ask him, desperate to start a conversation.

"My day?" He replies, as if wondering if I could possibly care about his day. I nod. "Oh. It's been good, I guess."

"That's good. Done anything interesting?" I press. He shrugs and puts the saddle he'd been cleaning back on the rack.

"I cleaned this saddle." I nod.

"It looks...clean," I offer.

"Yeah, I guess," He replies. He grabs a few brushes from the box on the floor and heads for the door. "I'm gonna go groom Quicksilver." I want to point out that he's done nothing but groom Quicksilver all week, and if he grooms Quicksilver one more time, he's going to rub those perfectly polished hairs right off his back. But I don't.

"Okay," I reply. As he walks out and the door slams shut, I add, "Don't kill yourself."

_**Hermes**_

I run my fingers through Quicksilver's silky mane. It's so soft and smooth that I know I can't brush it again, I'll pull the hairs out. Oh, gods, what am I doing? Why can't I stop thinking about it? Is this the way it's going to be? Am I never going to be okay?

Probably not.

"I wish it never happened," I tell him, stroking his soft fur. It's clean and shiny, reminding me of the hours I've spent in here this week, grooming. Grooming, and pretending I'm alright. "I guess that's a stupid thing to say. I mean, obviously _everyone_ wishes it never happened. But I just...I don't know. It's a lot, you know?" Quicksilver snorts and flicks his tail. "Well, of course you don't, you're a horse. But I like to think you understand. At least you never interrupt. You never try to make it better. You never tell me it's going to be okay. I _hate_ when people tell me it's going to be okay. Because it's not! It's going to suck! And I'm okay with that. " I sigh. "Most of the time." Quicksilver nudges my palm, and I shake my head. He snorts, disappointed that I don't have treats for him. "Other times, I just want to jump off buildings." Quicksilver is silent. And for once, I'm not told I'm crazy. "People don't listen, Quicksilver," I explain to him, "not like horses. Or therapists, but they're not _really_ listening. They're going paycheck to paycheck, doing what puts a roof over their heads. Sometimes, I don't think Iris really cares. No one listened, after I jumped. It's like, as soon as you become mentally insane, nothing you say has meaning. They asked _why_, and I was like, 'What kind of a question is that? What do you mean _why_?'. I can't exactly just explain it, you know? Like, it's _suicide_, not a math problem. It can't just be explained. But I told them why. They just...they didn't understand. Not that I blame them, my friends have been great, through all of this, but they can't understand. And it's not their fault. You really can't understand it until you've felt it. That's what I need, Quicksilver. I need someone who's felt it." Quicksilver snorts. See? He gets me. I sigh. "It's such a mess, Quicksilver." The tears start to fall. "_I'm_ such a mess." Quicksilver nuzzles my cheek. I've heard people say horses can sense emotion. I fully believe it's true. Although, reading my emotions is probably pretty hard. You know, since I'm such a mess. "I always thought life was easy. But it's not. It's _so_ hard. It's so hard to keep yourself alive, Quicksilver, when all you want is to curl up and die."

That's all I want.

_**Artemis**_

The cross country course is lonely. Just Moonbeam and I. No Hermes, no Quicksilver. I sigh.

My life is lonely.

I bring Moonbeam up to a canter and lead him in straight for the stone wall. He canters smoothly, his speed consistent and calm. Finally, I think to myself, we're gonna get over this jump. Three, two, one...he refuses. I give his reins a sharp jerk to let him know I'm not pleased, and he squeals.

"Forget it," I mutter, "this is pointless. Nationals is over, Apollo won the overall. There's no redos." Usually I can bounce back from a loss pretty quickly, but this time I was so sure I was going to win. I'd always come in second to Hermes, six years running. Since he was out of it, I thought I had it. It doesn't matter that I won my age division of cross country. It doesn't matter that I won the entire cross country competition. When we came into the ring for the announcement of the overall, it was _Apollo_ whose name was announced. "Oh, well," I tell Moonbeam as I turn him back towards the barn, "there's always next year. Right, Buddy?" Moonbeam snorts, which I hope is in agreement. I press into his sides with my heels, urging him forward. "Pick up the pace, you have to be fit for next season," I tell him, "which, by the way, we're going to win. Trust me, it'll be _our_ year, Moonbeam. Finally." He snorts. Well, that was a waste of a great pep-talk. As we enter the barn and I walk him towards his stall, I see someone who could use one a lot more than my horse. And he's standing in Quicksilver's stall, brushing out his tail. _Again_. I turn Moonbeam away from his stall and lead him over to Quicksilver's, placing my hands on my hips.

"What are you doing?" I ask. Hermes looks at me, blinks a few times, then looks back down. I sigh impatiently. "Oh, that's right. I'm not worthy of your speech." He flinches, but doesn't meet my gaze. I groan and reach into Quicksilver's cubby, pulling out his bridle and tossing it to Hermes. "Alright, that's it. We're going for a ride. You can't stay in that stall for the rest of your life." He looks down at the bridle in his hands, then at his cast.

"Artemis, I can't-"

"You'll be fine," I assure him. "Hey, I thought you'd gone completely mute!" He shrugs.

"I'm mute when I want to be." Wow. That's the most words I've heard him speak at one time in a week. Despite that fact that it so shouldn't, it still irritates me to watch him pull on the bridle with such ease. With Moonbeam, everything is a wrestling match.

"Ready to go?" I ask.

"Sure," He replies, "where are we going?" I tick the words off on my fingers.

"Wow," I commend him, "five words in one sentence. Good job, Fairy Feet." He glares at me, but doesn't say anything. "Gone mute again?" He sighs.

"Where are we going?" He repeats.

"I don't know. We'll just wander," I decide. He leads Quicksilver over to the mounting block and clambers onto his back. We head out the door and into the fields, and all the while he just stares at his hands and fiddles with the reins. "Don't do that," I reprimand, "you're sending him confusing signals." He looks at the twitching reins, then back up at me.

"I _know_," He says. But he keeps fiddling.

"You're going to drive him insane," I warn.

"What do you care?" He shoots back.

"I care that he's going to get agitated and throw you off," I explain.

"Yeah, well, I'll be fine. If you haven't noticed, I know how to ride," He snaps.

"Your left heel is way up in the air," I tell him. He glares at me.

"My ankle is _broken_," He hisses. I shrug.

"You told me you knew how to ride."

"I do."

"Well, then, put your heels down." He glares at me, as if to say, I'm doing this for you, then presses his heel down and screws up his face in pain, instantly making me feel bad.

"Happy?" He asks through gritted teeth.

"I am, but you certainly aren't," I reply.

"Yeah, cause it _hurts_."

"Well, then, don't do it."

"You told me to."

"Do you have to do everything you're told? Aren't you a big boy now?"

"Well, whenever I didn't do what my mother said, she whipped me. So, I'm sorry, _force of habit._" This one shocks me into silence, and we ride quietly into the forest. The trees grow taller and closer together as we ride deeper into the woods, and I honestly have no idea where we are. But I don't say so, because way back when, on page twelve, I reprimanded him for getting lost on the cross country course. And admitting to him that I'd gotten us lost would be so embarrassing. "You know, you accused me of being mute, but you're the one not talking," He points out.

"At least I've said more than three words at a time more than once this week," I counter.

"Well, I was abused, so I win!" He replies. I have to admit, he _does_ have a point there.

"Why'd you stop talking?" I ask. He shrugs. "What, you don't know? You just decided not to talk one day?" He shrugs again and fiddles with the reins a little bit more before answering.

"I don't want to be noticed. I don't want to be seen, I don't want to be heard, I just want to disappear. I want to crawl into the shadows where no one can point at me, or whisper about me behind my back. I don't talk because I want to be invisible. And I want to be invisible because the invisible people never get hurt. No one notices them. And I don't want to be hurt. I'm so tired of being hurt."

"It's going to be-"

"Don't fucking tell me it's going to be OK! I've heard that enough."

"No need to get snappy with me. I was just trying to help."

"You think I _wanted_ this? You think I _wanted_ to come home every night knowing I wouldn't make it to eight o'clock conscious? You think I _wanted_ to jump off a building? I appreciate the effort, but I'm kind of beyond _help_."

"Look, maybe things aren't going to get better. But they won't even have the opportunity to if you don't let them. So open your eyes and get out of this little introverted bubble of self-pity!"

"Self-pity?! You think I spend my days thinking 'Oh, woe is me, my life is so terrible'? No! I spend my days trying to think of reasons that I should _stay f*cking alive._"

"Well, you're going to have a lot less reasons if you don't try!"

"I am trying! You think I want to be like this for the rest of my life? To be this depressed lunatic? Oh, sure, I'd definitely prefer manic depression and a broken ankle to another nationals trophy and not spending the cross country season on the bench!"

"Don't blame it on me! It's not my fault your mom hit you!"

"You don't understand."

"Of course I don't. I've never been f*cking abused!"

"Yeah? Well, let me tell you what it felt like: I constantly felt like a failure. Nothing I did was good enough. I trusted her, and she beat me. And then there was the physical pain. It's like a thousand burning knives being driven into your back, over and over and over. So yeah, lots of fun!"

"Well, I'm _so_ sorry! But if you don't want my help, then figure it out yourself! I've tried enough times. So, you can go peddle your problems to someone who _cares_!" He looks down at his hands, fiddling with his reins again. Then he looks back up at me. The anger is gone from his eyes, replaced by this overwhelming sadness.

"Don't you get it, Artemis?" He replies, "No one cares."

* * *

I stare down at the textbook in front of me, trying to interest myself in _Monsters of the Ages: From Minotaurs to Lady Gaga_ (weird title). The written part of our monster fighting exam is in a week, and I've hardly studied. Sighing, I open the textbook to a random chapter. The pages open onto page 394, to a chapter entitled _"Chimeras-Snakes, Lions, and Goats, Oh My!"_ (this book seriously has the worst titles). That's when it hits me, Macey Malone was a chimera. I scan the page for anything about humans transforming into chimeras. Finally, I spot it, but it's not what I expected.

_Unlike some other monsters, chimeras are incapable of adopting a human form. There is no recorded evidence of chimeras disguising themselves as humans._

I slam the book shut and run out of the library, clutching it to my chest. If anyone can explain this, Nike can. I burst through the door to her classroom and run over to her desk, where she's sitting, polishing a sword. I set the book down on her desk, opening it to page 394. She looks down at it, smirks slightly, then looks up at me, an innocent expression on her face.

"What's this about chimeras?" She asks sweetly.

"This girl, she was a chimera. But it says here that it's not possible," I splutter, pointing to the sentence.

"A girl who turned into a chimera? Artemis, are you feeling alright?" Nike asks.

"Yes, I'm feeling fine. Professor, you must know what I'm talking about. Her name was Macey. Macey Malone," I tell her. Nike smiles.

"Ah, Macey Malone. Yes, I know _exactly_ what you're talking about," Nike says. She gets to her feet and starts cleaning off the blackboard, not giving me any more information.

"What do you mean?" I demand, "Professor, what's going on? Who was Macey Malone?"

"Macey Malone was not a real person," Nike begins.

"I know that," I cut her off impatiently, "she was a chimera." Nike shakes her head.

"Macey wasn't a real chimera, either. She was a project, created by me and your friend Hephaestus," She explains.

"Hephaestus?" I echo, "But, if he knew, then why didn't he tell us?"

"Because I told him not to," She replies. "Macey was designed to give you some real-world experience. Not everything is going to come out of a set of clearly marked doors into an arena. You're not always going to have a weapon. And you've got to be ready for that."

"So...so that was all planned?" I ask.

"Completely," Nike answers, "someone was controlling Macey the whole time." I stare at her, dumbfounded. "Oh, Artemis, don't look so surprised. It's something you'll learn is very true: Everything is not what it seems."


	28. Chapter 28: Graduation

**Sorry I didn't get this up yesterday, I kept forgetting about it. So here it is...the final chapter! If I get two reviews, I'll post the sneak peak of the second book, which is also finished!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: I got a week off for spring break, but that was a couple weeks ago. Yes, that is the real twist about Macey. You can still hate her, though. I hate her, and I wrote the book. I only called Lady Gaga a monster because I thought she was called, "The Mother Monster". Is that not a thing anymore? Oops. Sorry if I offended any Gaga fans. Thanks for reviewing, I hope you like the final chapter!**

**ArtyMoonSon: I'm not really into Norse mythology, but Apollo is my second favorite god. I think horses can read emotions. At least, that's what I've heard. Have you ever read the story of Pandora's box? Well, Pandora was made by Hephaestus. It's kind of the same with Macey. Her father was fake, as well. Thanks for reviewing!**

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: All your questions will be answered in this chapter! Macey was controlled by Nike. Hermes never fully gets out of his depression, but some wise words to come from Hermes himself (from the third or fourth book), "You're never broken. Maybe you're ****_really, really, really _****bent. But you're never broken." Thanks for reviewing!**

**PuertoRicana: Thank you very much for my first ever negative comment! Maybe it is a bit like a trashy white teen novel. But those tend to sell, now don't they? Also, I would like to commend you. You're very good at criticizing people you've never met over the internet. You'll go far. Thanks for the review!**

**Disclaimer: THIS IS THE LAST TIME I'LL HAVE TO WRITE THAT USELESS WORD!**

**...oh wait.**

**_Three. More. Books. _**

* * *

_**Hermes**_

I'm trying to focus. I really am. It's just that history isn't that interesting, I can't read the textbook, and I've got this really annoying song in my head. _Just focus_, I tell myself, _if you stare at it long enough, it'll make sense._ So I stare. And stare. And stare. I am trying, I just can't keep my mind from going all:_ lalalalala, oh look a bird! You get the best of both worlds, chill it out, take it slow, then you rock out the show!_ I told you I have a really annoying song in my head.

"What's up?" I glance up from the textbook to see Coral seated in front of me. Her hair is up in her usual high ponytail, her blue eyes bright and happy, her mouth in a wide smile.

I wish I could smile like that.

"Nothing, I'm just preparing to repeat eighth grade," I sigh miserably.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," She assures me, "besides, you've never had to repeat a grade before."

"That's 'cause I've always managed to get a glimpse at Apollo's answers," I explain. She smiles, rolling her eyes.

"Trust me, you're going to do great. Just think about it as another competition, another Nationals you're going to win. It's not a big deal," She suggests.

"Nationals is a _huge_ deal!" I argue. She shrugs, her blonde ponytail bouncing around her shoulders.

"Whatever. You get the point. Need any help?" She offers.

"Actually, yes. What have we learned these past nine months?" I reply. She laughs.

"You're _so_ funny." I raise an eyebrow.

"I am?"

"Totally!" She gets up from her seat and walks over to me, bending over so we're eye to eye. "And I _love_ boys with a good sense of humor." Then she presses her lips against mine. When she breaks it, I stare at her, dumfounded. She giggles and saunters away, her cheerleading skirt swinging at her hips.

Wut.

* * *

It's funny what a kiss from a cheerleader can do for a guy. Now I know why Perseus is always dating them. It just makes you feel like hot shit. The cheerleaders are the most beautiful, popular girls in school. And not just any cheerleader, but the captain of the team, chose me to kiss. It fills you up with this confidence, and no matter what happens, you always know you're cool. Because a _cheerleader_ kissed you, and that's pretty much the mark of coolness. Some people get it, others don't. Apollo, for instance, will forever be uncool.

I walk into the English classroom and take my seat. Professor Philyra (goddess of writing) passes out our exams, and tells us to begin. I look down at the paper before me, remembering what Coral told me. "I'm sure you'll do fine." If Coral thinks I can do it, then I definitely can.

_aPlce eth cmaom rhewe it hdslou og ni het lgwoflnio nscetene_

_anJe is nyrleifd rtmas adn nyunf_

Hmmm. Maybe not. I take a deep breath, squeeze my eyes shut, then open them and study the paper before me. Slowly, it comes into focus.

_Place the comma where it should go in the following sentence:_

_Jane is friendly smart and funny._

I smile to myself. Yeah, I'm gonna be fine.

* * *

I'm just about to open the stall door and give Moonbeam his food, when I hear whistling from inside it. I sigh. Artemis and I haven't spoken since our fight three days ago. Just apologize, I tell myself, You can't just avoid her for the rest of your life. Inwardly groaning, I slide open the door. Artemis is picking Moonbeam's enormous feet, her back to me. Maybe I could just slip in, give him his food, and slip out-No, you have to talk to her.

"Artemis?" She drops Moonbeam's dinner-plate-sized hoof and whirls around, startled. "Um, are you busy?"

"Clearly, Fairy Feet, I was grooming my horse. He actually needs it, since I don't spend every waking moment pampering him," She snaps.

"Look, Artemis, I'm sorry," I sigh, "I'm sorry I yelled at you. That was uncalled for, and it's not your fault. I was just kind of...angry. With everything. So I took it out on you, which wasn't fair. And I'm sorry that all of this even happened. I'm sorry I didn't come to you guys sooner. I'm sorry I'm so...complicated." She watches me for a moment, silently.

"I'm sorry too," She finally says, "for all the same reasons. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I could never understand what you're going through, but it frustrated me that you were building up these walls and not letting me in. I was trying to help, but you didn't want it. And I should've stopped then. I should've given you some time. But I didn't, and I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"Only if you'll forgive me," I reply.

"Agreed," She decides.

"So, we're cool?" She smiles at me.

"Totally." I dump Moonbeam's food in his bucket and exit the stall.

Well, that was the most awkward moment of my life.

* * *

The next few weeks pass pretty quickly. Teachers give half-hearted lessons that no one (OK, maybe Athena) listens too. The windows are flung open, letting in the tantalizing smell of summer, and it's almost cruel. The building is so hot that Apollo is literally incapable of _not_ setting things on fire, but it's even hotter outside. And it's hottest in the barn, which, combined with the lovely scent of horse manure and several-year-old tack soap, makes for a very unpleasant experience. Add that to Crystal's presence, and I'm not the only one having suicidal thoughts. Training camp and all the friends we left behind are right around the corner, and school just seems like a unusual torture method. I get my exams back, and to my surprise, I passed them all! Failing grade is a C-. I got a C. So there.

I get my cast off in time to compete in the final track meet, and I'm proud to say I kicked Theseus's ass. He's probably gonna kick mine next week, but I might as well enjoy it while I can. Speaking of next week, I'm graduating. Well, from middle school. To be honest, I didn't think I would make it this far alive. But I did, and my plan is to keep going. I may have lost my Mom, my girlfriend, and Nationals, but I gained...a broken ankle and a fight with Artemis. Oh, yeah, and I drew that lovely tree. So much has happened this year. In September, I was ready to sleep through another nine months of school, add another Nationals trophy to my shelf, and break my previous record in cross country. I was not ready to be abused, jump off a building, and talk to a tortoise. I went through hell this year, but I learned something important. The alphabet. No, no, I'm just kidding. I still don't know the alphabet. I learned that YOU GOTTA KEEP YOUR HEAD UP OH-OH, AND YOU CAN LET YOUR HAIR DOWN HEY-EY! No, but seriously. I had a pretty rough year. I faced a relentless bully, an abusive parent, and a new learning disorder. But with some help from Iris the therapist, some medication, and my friends, things are finally getting back on track. And when the principle called my name, and I walked across that stage to stand with the other graduates, I couldn't have been happier. Because that was it. Middle school was finally over.

And I made it.

WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN "THERE'S STILL HIGH SCHOOL"?

**THE END**

**(of book one)**


	29. Sneak Peak: Summer at Training Camp

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's the sneak peak of the sequel, ****_Summer at Training Camp. _****I'm hoping to start posting the sequel ASAP. If you guys have any questions, about the story, the sequel, me, or anything, please review and I'll post an author's note answering them. Enjoy!**

**M'n'Mzutarians 4ever: Coral and Hermes never end up together. Coral is straight, and she's a water nymph. Thanks for always leaving a great review, hope to see you in the sequel!**

**ArtyMoonSon: You don't need to apologize! Reviews are great whenever I get them! And you've left an awesome one on almost every chapter, so thanks for that. I hope you enjoy the sequel!**

**AngelicVampireGirl: It's not so much the kiss that helps him, but the confidence boost that comes with the kiss. Thank you so much for yet ****_another _****amazing review, and thanks for always leaving one. I hope you enjoy the sequel!**

**Disclaimer: **

* * *

_**Artemis**_

I flip the last page of the book I'd been reading and sigh. That's the fifth book I've finished today. Summer kicked off with rain. This is the third day I've sat inside with nothing to do. Sighing again, I get to my feet and walk across the hall to Apollo's room, not bothering to knock. It's not like I'd be barging in on anything important, anyway. He never does anything interesting.

"Got any other books?" I ask, laying the one I'd been reading on the desk. He sets down his guitar and shakes his head.

"Nope. You've read them all. Including all of my old textbooks. From third grade," He points out. I groan.

"There's absolutely _nothing_ to do," I whine.

"Want to play a board game?" He offers.

"Why on _Earth_ would I want to play a board game?" I shoot back.

"Just a suggestion," He mutters, throwing his hands up in the air. "You could always go outside and cause motiveless pain and suffering to innocent animals."

"Apollo, it's raining," I remind him.

"So, you'd be a little wet. Big whoop."

"Apollo, what kind of idiot would be out in this weather?"

_**Hermes**_

I push my dripping hair out of my eyes and knock on the slick, wooden door to the Underworld. One of Hades's creepy-ass masked servants opens the door and glares at me through the eye-slits.

"Here are your dead souls," I tell him, handing him a bag of jars. "Oh, and here's Hades's monthly edition of Hydra Beat. Tell him he needs to renew his subscription if he wants to keep getting it." The servant grunts something that I take as, "Sure thing, homie." and closes the door. I turn and rifle around in the mailbag, my hand blindly finding the last letter. I pull it from the bag and attempt to decipher the address written on it in loopy, elaborate handwriting.

_Mrs. Crystal Reef_

_Ashwood Stables_

_Mt. Olympus, Greece_

Who in their right mind would want to get in touch with Crystal? As I fly towards the barn, it hits me that I could just look at the return address instead of wondering about it. I am a genius.

_Sir Alder Bracken_

_Brightwood Academy_

_Mt. Olympus, Greece_

I stop dead in my tracks.

If you've been living under a rock and don't know what Brightwood Academy is, it's a huge deal. It's this super-prestigious boarding school that specializes in horseback-riding. Brightwood students go on to be world-renowned champions. In order to get in to Brightwood, you must first be asked to try out. Even then you're not sure if you've gotten in. Only about 5% of all applicants make it, and of that 5%, only 10% makes the competition team. Barns like Brightwood compete at the elite level on the A Circuit, otherwise there's no way I would've won Nationals six times, some hotshot from Brightwood would've crushed me. There are three levels at the A Circuit. Junior, which is for kids ages 2-7, teen, which is for kids 8 and up, and elite, which is for prestigious schools like Brightwood Academy, Pelham Lane, and Star Stables. Others compete at the teen level and hope to be snapped up by a scout from one of these schools, unless be doomed to a humiliating life of never-ending teen competitions. In order to compete at the elite level, your team as a whole must pass a second test, in addition to the one taken individually to be allowed to compete on the A Circuit.

I fly faster now, eager to know what business Sir Alder Bracken of Brightwood Academy has with Crystal and her team of riders. We're pretty accomplished, Apollo was undefeated this year, Aphrodite was undefeated this year, I've won Nationals six times, and this is the first year that Ares hasn't been undefeated, but in comparison to Brightwood, we may as well be a group of beginners scraped up off the streets and thrown into the saddle.

The barn comes into view, and I put on a new burst of speed and rush in through the double doors.

"Hermes!" Crystal snaps, "What did I say about flying in the barn?! You'll spook the horses!"

"Sorry," I pant, "but I have a letter for you. From Brightwood Academy." I swear, the whole barn goes silent. Not a single swallow dares to chirp, not a mouse stirs, not a horse stamps its feet. Crystal takes the letter from my hands and slowly, carefully opens it. Then she begins to read. As her eyes run down the page, her expression grows more and more excited. When she finishes, she folds up the letter and shoves it into her pocket. "What?" I ask, "What's going on?"

"Alder Bracken is a scout from Brightwood," She explains, "and she wants to see my competition team compete for a spot at Brightwood!" My eyes widen. A spot at Brightwood could change our lives! Our riding careers would take off! Wait, she said a spot. As in, singular. One spot. Ten members of the Ashwood competition team.

Oh shit.


	30. Author's Note

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that the sequel to this, ****_Summer at Training_**** Camp****, is up! Anyone who's read the sneak peak has already read the first chapter, but I will get the second one up ASAP. I'm also going to answer all the questions submitted. So, here we go!**

_**Will Hephaestus and Dionysus have butt sex in the sequel?**_

**Wow. Okay, we started off with an interesting question, now didn't we? Um, no. Remember, they're only fourteen. I'm afraid they won't be having butt sex throughout the entire series. Sorry!**

_**Will Aphrodite have any screen time in the sequel?**_

**Aphrodite is not a main character, but she is included. I think she has a bit more screen time in the sequel than in this one.**

_**Is Theseus going to have his **** handed to him for fluff?**_

**__****Um...not exactly sure what this means. Theseus is not as important in the sequel, so you won't be seeing as much of him.**

_**And new characters in the sequel?**_

**__****Yup! I can't give away too much, though. I can only tell you their names. In the sequel, I will be introducing Daphne, Prometheus, and an original character named Jane.**

**_Any newly discovered powers in the sequel?_**

**I don't think so...you'll have to read to find out!**

**_Do you like llamas?_**

**Of course I like llamas! I ****_love _****llamas! What kind of person ****_doesn't _****like llamas?**

**That is all! Hope to see you in the sequel! Until then, adios! Thank you for giving me amazing feedback and encouraging me to continue this. I can never thank you enough for how great you've made me feel.**

**-kaufmanl **


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